Will True Love Ever Run Smooth?
by BillieBruce
Summary: What if Dimitri escaped the caves alive? It's now graduation time and Rose is ready to be with Dimitri, but what will their life be like as guardians outside of the Academy?
1. Chapter 1

1

They were almost out, almost free when a group of Strigoi jumped out of a side passage. One grabbed Celeste, whilst another reached for Ms McCormack. I barely noticed this though, not when a third Strigoi had Dimitri.

"Dimitri!" I screamed.

This couldn't be happening; Dimitri was strong, he was a god. I had always thought that he was invincible but this was proof that he wasn't. I felt panic and fear creep through me, I couldn't lose Dimitri, I wouldn't, not after everything had become so perfect. We were finally on our way to solving our problems, to being together and I wasn't about to let go of all that. I wanted to save him, to run and kill the Strigoi myself but I was rooted to the spot, stuck watching as the Strigoi sank his fangs into Dimitri's neck.

"No!" I screamed, jerking upright in bed. It was just a dream, a nightmare that had haunted me since the night of the attack. It had been months and it hadn't turned out that way but I couldn't shake the dream. Dimitri hadn't been killed or turned, he was fine. My gorgeous, badass mentor boyfriend was fine; he had spun around at the last minute and staked the blonde bastard.

A knock on my door dragged me from my thoughts. I sensed through the bond that it was Lissa; she was excited but also a little nervous. I hurried to the door worried that something was wrong.

"You're not even dressed yet!" Lissa exclaimed.

"Good morning to you too, Lissa. Why the hurry anyway?"

"Your trial is today, remember?"

"Shit." The fear and anxiety that came with the dream had made me forget about the trials entirely. "They're today."

It had been more a statement than a question but Lissa nodded and told me to get dressed. I didn't have time for a shower so simply threw on some clothes and pulled my hair up so that it wouldn't be in the way. It would also show off the tattoos that I had already earned, two molnijas and a zvezda.

We walked quickly across campus, praying that we wouldn't be too late; Dimitri was going to kill me.

"How could you forget about the trials, Rose? You've been looking forward to this for months."

"I know," I replied quietly, not really knowing what else to say.

"So what happened?" Lissa paused and then I sensed the realisation dawn on her. "You had the dream again, didn't you?"

I nodded silently. Lissa had finally worked out the connection that existed between Dimitri and me. It had resulted in me telling her everything, including the night when Victor had kidnapped her, all of the secret, stolen kisses, the cabin, everything. She had at long last guessed when we returned had return from the caves on the night of the attack. As soon as we were over the wards we were sent to get checked out but I didn't leave Dimitri's side. We were sent away from the clinic when Doctor Olenski saw that we were alright but I still wouldn't let him leave. I hugged and clung to him, relieved that he was alive. We sat talking for a long time and when Lissa finally came looking for me she saw us. We weren't kissing or anything but she saw a closeness between us that was unmistakable. She was angry that I hadn't told her and demanded answers. I felt bad and it all came tumbling out; we stayed up late and it felt good to talk to her.

"You should have said. I thought it had stopped." Lissa sounded worried.

"It hasn't, it never did."

"Does Dimitri know?" I shook my head. He too thought that the dream had stopped and I hadn't corrected him because I didn't want him to worry.

"You have to tell him!" Lissa frowned.

"Hathaway!" Stan shouted as we arrived. "Nice of you to join us. Get in there now!"

"Good luck," she smiled, hugging me. "Not that you need it."

"You're lucky you aren't one of the first ones," he growled. "People were even making bets about whether you'd show."

"Really?" I asked cheerfully. "What kind of odds are there on that? Because I can still change my mind and put down my own bet. Make a little pocket money."

Stan glared at me before following me into the waiting area that was adjacent to the stands. I saw Dimitri waiting nearby and wandered over to him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Dimitri asked, his face showed anger but his eyes, I had learned that they were the place to look for his real emotions, showed relief that I had showed up.

"Relax, comrade, you really think I wouldn't show up for my own trial? I mean I know I'm good enough to do this blindfolded and it's kind of unnecessary for someone as awesome as me but really?" I grinned. I refused to let on that I wasn't quite as confident as I was trying to sound. I was a good novice, but I was still a little worried. The memory of the attack and the near loss of Dimitri didn't make me feel any better either.

"I was beginning to wonder," he replied.

"And waste all your awesome training? Nah, don't be stupid." I tried to hold my grin, but just seeing him alive made my heart clench. I had come so close to losing him and I would never forget that. My cocky smile slipped just a little, but nothing got passed Dimitri, especially when it came to me.

"What's wrong? And don't lie to me, I know that something is."

"It's okay. I'm dealing with it," I replied, not bothering with lies. There was no point when he could see right through them.

Dimitri looked briefly around the room and then took my hands in his. He only said one word, but it took all I had not to tell him then and there, "Please."

"Later," I said, squeezing his hand. He let go, and we returned to our official teacher student roles. I doubted that anyone would think much of a mentor comforting his pupil in the moments before her trial, but it was better to be safe than sorry, especially this close to graduation.

"You're going to do brilliantly today, Rose." Dimitri smiled. "You'll show them all how it's down."

"Of course I will, look who I had as an instructor!" I grinned at him. I was making a joke, but I really did appreciate everything that Dimitri had done for me.

"I had nothing to do with it."

"That's bullshit and you know it. You're the only reason I'm even here; you got me back into school, you trained me up, you saved me in the field experience," I paused and then lowered my voice. "You kept me from going crazy with Lissa's darkness."

"You could have done most of that on your own. You're strong, Roza, and you are going to be an amazing guardian."

"If I get through this trial that is!" I grinned, lightening the mood. I knew that if I listened to much more of Dimitri's encouragement and faith then I wouldn't be able to keep that promise of resisting him until I graduated.

"Rose, good luck," a voice said behind me. I turned to see my mother standing there.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

"Did you honestly think that I wouldn't come to watch you?"

"I don't know." I admitted, feeling a little guilty. But what was a girl supposed to think when she had barely spoken to her mom her whole life.

"I couldn't miss this." She smiled. "So, Belikov, any last minute words of wisdom?"

"None that you couldn't give, Janine," Dimitri told my mother with a grin. He placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled softly at me. It was the smile that I loved, the one that he saved just for me. "Good luck, Rose."

I imagined that I might have received a hug and perhaps been called Roza if my mother hadn't been standing there. I was a little upset but I didn't have time to dwell on that because they called my name.

"Rosemarie Hathaway."

"Shit, that's me."

"Keep calm and focus, Rose." My mother said as she quickly hugged me. She didn't even bother to tell me off for swearing. I looked to Dimitri but he simply smiled; he had faith in me.

The trials passed in a blur and I didn't have any major problems. In fact, I got so into it that I didn't even realise it was over until Alberta, grinning, told me so. I was led off the field where saw my mother and Dimitri waiting. Alberta had to go but quickly congratulated me.

"Was that it?"

"Rose, you were out there for almost an hour." My mother laughed.

"But you were amazing. That was probably one of the best trials this school has ever seen." Dimitri grinned. I saw the pride on his face, but there was respect and love there too.

"I'm so proud of you." My mother said, showing the most emotion I had ever seen her show.

"So what happens next?" I smiled, realising that I had done it. I had made it through school, through my trials and I was ready to graduate.

"Now you become a guardian." They said in unison, both grinning. I grinned back and allowed them to lead me away.

The tattoo ceremony came later and I looked forward to it. It was the first time that I would receive a tattoo under happy circumstances rather than the sad ones attached to my others. I stood in line with the other novices (I couldn't yet think of us as official, graduated guardians). The ceremony was long and we were required to stand but I was not bothered as this was how I intended to spend the rest of my life. My name was finally called and my score read out. It was higher than the rest of my class by a large margin, thankfully though she didn't read out my academic grades which would have taken away some of my awesomeness. I walked up to the tattoo artist and sat in the seat. He sighed audibly when he saw my already crowed neck and there was a light chuckle from the spectators in the room. Luckily, the guy managed to fit the promise mark in on the nape of my neck, curling around the other molnija marks like an embrace. When the process was finally complete, I was shown the mark and sent to rejoin my classmates. I stood and looked into the audience, searching for him. I met Dimitri's eyes, brown orbs filled with such immense pride and awe, and grinned. I had finally done it, I was a guardian!


	2. Chapter 2

2

The ceremonies were soon over but I could not yet relax as Lissa had insisted on throwing me a party. I changed out of my formal outfit and into the black dress that I had worn on the night of the lust spell. I decided that tonight was the night to bring that moment back to the front of Dimitri's mind. I was no longer his student, we could do whatever we wanted and I intended to do what I wanted as soon as I could. Dimitri would no doubt resist and wish to retain some of our secrecy so hopefully the dress would remove some of his resistance. I let my hair hang down in loose waves, covering the bandage on the back of my neck, and applied a little make up. This would be one of my last opportunities to be young and have fun so I didn't want to be too formal and grown up.

I met Meredith on my way to the party and she was more than willing to talk about the trial. She seemed excited to have graduated and was bouncing her way to see her parents.

"How did you find the trial?" Meredith asked me.

"Yeah, it was okay. The bridge was confusing though, how did you get your Moroi across?"

"Moroi? Across the bridge? What do you mean?"

"When we were chased onto the bridge with a Moroi. Mine was Daniel. There were Strigoi on each side."

"I crossed the bridge but it was just me being chased. I took my Moroi through a maze."

"Huh." I frowned. I was about to press her, to challenge her memory of the trial, but we had already arrived at the Academy's guest housing. Lissa had decided to hold the party in Adrian's room because it was larger than either of ours and most of the common rooms were being used by other people. I said goodbye to Meredith and went up to Adrian's room. The building was busy with parents and relative milling around, meeting up with their new graduated children. I knocked on the door of Adrian's room and he answered with a lazy smile.

"Little dhampir, nice of you to show up."

"What is it with people today and thinking I'm not going to show up?" I sighed.

"Talk to the guy over there with your mom, not me!" Adrian gestured to a tanned guy in brightly coloured clothes standing beside my mother. They were standing a little to close for me to comfortable but I didn't have time to worry about that because Lissa popped up at that moment.

"Rose! Hooray, you're here." She pulled me into a tight hug. "Congratulations, you were great today!"

I hadn't seen her since this morning when she had walked me to my trial. I now assumed that she had been in the stands watching with the other spectators.

"Yeah, even I have to admit your excellence." Christian said, not sounding too thrilled about admitting how well I had done.

"Damn right. Dimitri said I was the best this school had ever seen." I grinned smugly.

"I said _one of_ actually." A voice said from behind me. I turned, confirming what I already knew, it was Dimitri.

"Comrade, you only said that because you had to be fair to any other students listening in, you know I am the best!" Dimitri laughed and shook his head but the look in his eye suggested that he agreed with me.

As well as the pride that shone in his eyes, there was a lustful look that gleamed especially bright as his eyes scanned down my body. I knew that he was examining the dress and reliving all of the memories that went hand in hand just as I had done earlier.

"Nice dress," he whispered in my ear, so quietly that nobody else could hear. Well, nobody except Lissa who was keenly listening. She knew that I had worn this dress on the night of the lust spell and so, correctly, figured that we might want some privacy to reminisce.

"Come on, Christian, let's go mingle." I flashed her a grateful smile before she disappeared.

"Oh, you like it?" I teased.

"Like it? I love it."

"If you ask me, it looks better on your bedroom floor."

"Rose, you only just graduated, we still need to be careful."

"Come on, Comrade, we both know you agree."

Dimitri didn't reply, I think partly because he didn't need to, his eyes, always the window to his emotions, confirmed it, and partly because he knew that he could lie but didn't want to admit it with my mother in the room.

"You know, I really am so proud of you and everything that you did today. You were brilliant." Dimitri smiled gently.

"Thanks, but I meant what I said this morning, I couldn't have done any of it without you. You trained me, you made me good." I didn't bother with the cocky banter that I had used earlier, this was Dimitri and I knew that it didn't work on him.

"You were brilliant anyway."

"But you helped me to see that."

"Trust me, Rose, when I say that you needed no help to see how good you were. In fact, you thought you were better than you actually were." He grinned, whilst my face dropped. Did he just insult me?

"Excuse me?"

"Don't you remember the pain of your first day back? That could have been avoided if you had kept up the training, and you wouldn't have felt that awful if you were really as good as you acted like you were," Dimitri replied, half joking and half serious.

"Okay, enough with the Zen life lessons, this is a party not a lecture."

"Sorry, Roza. But just so we're clear, you're amazing."

"I know that, but we were talking about my guardian skills not how good I am in bed!" I grinned. Dimitri simply rolled his eyes and strolled away.

I watched him go before attempting to find my best friend. She had organised this soiree, so perhaps she would know who my mom's friend was.

"Hey, Lissa, who's that guy?" I pointed to the strange man.

"He showed up with your mom, I figured you wouldn't mind if he tagged along. The more the merrier." She smiled.

"Huh, I hadn't even realised that my mom had any friends, never mind guy friends!" I frowned and promised Lissa I would be back soon. Then I made my way quickly towards my mother and her oddly dressed friend.

"Rosemarie," My mom smiled.

"Who's the guy?" I jerked my head in his direction.

"Rose, this is Abe, your father."


	3. Chapter 3

3

"What?" I couldn't help my mouth falling open.

"Ibrahim Mazur, your father."

I couldn't believe it. My mother suddenly came back into my life despite not having been there for me for seventeen years and then decided to add another parent to my life. I had spent seventeen years with no parents and now suddenly had two. One I barely knew and only occasionally liked and now one who appeared to be stark raving mad. I studied Abe's outfit and would have, in any other situation, had to refrain from laughing. He wore a bright yellow suit with a dark purple shirt. He also wore a cravat in some awful golden colour that clashed with both the suit and the shirt, but that matched the tacky gold earring that he wore. Sadly though, I couldn't deny that he was my father, he had the same tanned skin as me; it was about as tan a complexion as any Moroi ever had. He also had some kind of ridiculous goatee thing growing on his chin that looked so stupid that, again, under normal conditions I would have found hilarious.

"Uh, listen, old man, I have survived fine without a father for eighteen years, what makes you think that I need one now?"

"Ah, Rosemarie, I couldn't exactly miss your graduation, could I?"

"Why not? You missed ever other significant event in my life."

"That is not Abe's fault, Rosemarie. We agreed when you were born that it would be better if he wasn't involved," my mother said, clearing keen to defend the guy.

"So why the sudden change of heart, old man?" I demanded.

"I'm looking for a new guardian and what better way to pick someone than to see the trials first hand, instead of reading them off some sheet." Abe smiled creepily. "And when I heard that my daughter would be here, well that just made it so much better."

I definitely did not like this guy.

"Well, if you're thinking about some heroic bonding thing where I become my father's guardian, think again. I'm already taken."

"Actually, I wasn't, but great idea. I might have to put in a request." I wasn't entirely sure if the guy was kidding but I really didn't want to find out.

"Don't. Also, most dads don't try to make money out of their kid before they've even met them!"

"Abe?" My mother was even shocked at the news of that. "That was you?"

"Indeed it was," he replied, not even ashamed of himself. "I made a fair bit of money on you, Rose."

"Oh my God." I shook my head in disgust. Had my mother really been in a relationship with this guy, was he actually my father? Ugh.

I couldn't take any more of the guy and walked away.

I found Lissa and pulled her away from some other seniors who had graduated with us earlier that day.

"You'll never guess what?" I said glumly.

"What?"

"My father is here. The creepy old guy is apparently my dad. He's on the lookout for a new guardian and thought he would check out the trials."

"Really? But Rose that's great, now you know who your father is."

"Liss, I was never really that bothered. I have all the family I need in you and Dimitri, and I guess my mom now that she's taking somewhat of an interest in my life."

"Don't be like that, Rose." Lissa scolded me. "You should be happy that you have both of your parents here to see you graduate."

"Sorry." I guess I hadn't thought about how much she would miss her family today. She wanted to do everything to make her family proud and graduating would have made them ridiculously happy.

"Hey, at least your father wasn't a creep who made money out of whether or not you would show up to your trial?"

"That was him?"

"Yeah, he doesn't even know me; he had never seen me before he decided that I was unreliable and troublesome."

"To be fair to him, you do have quite a reputation, Rose." Lissa laughed.

"Lissa, you're supposed to be on my side."

"Do there really have to be sides?"

I was about to reply that there were always sides and that she should always be on mine, but Adrian strolled over.

"Little dhampir, enjoying the party?" Adrian grinned; I could tell that he had been drinking but I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, it was Adrian and this was a party.

"Well, I was," I said huffily.

"Don't do it, Rose, don't say until I came over." Adrian laid a hand on his heart melodramatically.

"I was actually going to say until I met my father."

"What?"

"Yeah, turns out that creepy old guy is my father."

"Rose," Lissa scolded me. "You really shouldn't take about your father like that."

"What's wrong with calling her dad creepy and old, I've called mine worse. But Nathan Ivashkov is a di-"

"Adrian!" Lissa exclaimed.

"What it's true, and if you won't let me say it then you clearly haven't met him or else you'd be agreeing with me!"

I laughed at Adrian's apparent adoration of his father whilst Lissa looked on disapprovingly. I was fully aware that she wished her parents were there to see her, but hers had been kind, loving people, not the kind of parents that Adrian and I had.

"Rose!" I heard Eddie call from across the room. He stood a little way from his parents and looked ridiculously excited.

"Eddie, can you believe we did it?" I gasped, wandering through the crowd of people towards him.

"I can believe I did! You not so much!" Eddie grinned.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, why did people doubt me so much?

"Well, you know, you missed so much and then all the problems in the field experience. I'm actually pretty surprised thy even let you take the trial."

"Eddie?"

"I'm kidding, Rose! Everyone knew that you would do best." He grinned and hugged me.

"For a second there, I wasn't sure. We're guardians now though, it's crazy. I don't feel responsible enough."

"That's because you're not. And this time, I'm not kidding." Eddie's grin widened. He lived teasing me, just as Mason had done. Mason.

"I've matured a lot in the last year, Eddie."

"I know, we all have," Eddie replied, all trace of his teasing gone. "He would have given you a run for your money today though."

"Yeah right, he wouldn't have been half as good as me." I joked but then replied seriously. "I guess he would have been right up there with me, wouldn't he? He should have been here today, I miss him."

"Me too, Rose, me too." Eddie placed a hand on my forearm in comfort. He still didn't know that we hadn't really been a couple, he didn't know that I had seen his ghost. I wasn't sure that tonight was the night to tell him those things.

"Hey, Rose. Guess who's here?" Lissa called excitedly.

I turned around, scanning the room for new guests and saw her. That bitch was standing with Dimitri, laughing and smiling.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"


	4. Chapter 4

**This is kind of a short chapter but I'll try to update soon. Please let me know what you think guys! :)**

* * *

4

This, I decided, was the moment to reveal our relationship to the people at this party. I stormed over there and placed my hand in Dimitri's.

"Hello, Tasha." I smiled sweetly.

"Rose, it's great to see you." She said whilst Dimitri regarded out hands inquisitively.

"Yeah, how have you been?"

"Great thanks, a guardian now, huh?"

"Yep, I wouldn't have been able to do it without _my _mentor though." I was determined to get through to her that she couldn't have him, no matter how hard she tried.

"What are you doing?" Dimitri murmured quietly in my ear.

"I just came to say hello to Tasha," I said innocently.

"We'll be back in a minute." Dimitri gave Tasha an apologetic look as he pulled me away.

"What are you doing, Comrade?" I asked as Dimitri led us through a door and into another room.

"I want to know what the hell you're doing." He held up our joined hands.

"I was saying hello to Tasha, is that a problem? Was I not allowed to be a part of that conversation?" I asked.

"Rose," he said sternly. "You heard what I said earlier, we still need to be careful."

"You're the one who's going to cause rumours by bringing me in here. This is Adrian's bedroom, after all."

"Rose, your teachers and classmates are in there, your parents, how do you think they would react of they knew that we were together?"

"They'd be pretty angry," I said quietly.

"Exactly. We have to choose our moment carefully. You can't just grab my hand like that."

"But-" I began angrily.

"I'm not stupid, I know what you were doing. But you know that I love you." Dimitri tucked my hair behind my ear and rested his hand on my cheek.

"Does she know that though, how do you know that she doesn't still want you as her guardian, doesn't still want to have a baby with you? She might still be in love with you."

"I know. But I don't love her, I love you and I am not going to leave you. Ever."

That made me smile; I threw my arms around him and kissed him. He seemed shocked but responded quickly, pushing me against the wall and tangling his hands in my hair.

"I love you, Roza," He murmured against my lips.

"I love you too, Comrade."

"Little dhampir, what do we have here? And Belikov, I thought you would have known better." Adrian entered the room and we jumped apart.

"Adrian, what are you are doing?" I demanded, just a little bit pissed off that he had interrupted one of the few and far between kisses that Dimitri and I got to share.

"Hey, don't yell at me, you guys are in my bedroom, I'm perfectly entitled to come in here whenever I want. Also, Rose, if you're going to kiss a guy in here, can't you at least make it me?"

I noticed Dimitri clench his fist and decided that it was probably to escape the awkward situation.

"Want to go away, Adrian?"

"And leave you with the cradle snatcher?" He feigned shock.

"Yes," I replied through clenched teeth. "We will be out in a minute."

"You know, Rose, a lot can happen in a minute." He winked, but a hard slap on the arm quickly got rid of him.

"Now, where were we?" I asked, hoping to resume kissing but Dimitri wasn't having it. He turned away from me, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe his own stupidity. I, personally, didn't think us kissing was that stupid, but what I could I do.

"What if that had been someone other than Adrian? What if Alberta had walked in there, or one of your parents, what would you have done then?" Dimitri asked, all trace of romance and passion gone from his eyes, now they were only filled with concern and worry.

"Why would they be coming in here?"

"That really isn't the point, Rose."

"I don't care, Dimitri, I'm sick of sneaking around. I want to tell everyone, I want to shout from the rooftops that I am yours and you are mine."

"Rose-" He began but I didn't let him finish.

"No, I'm sick of your Zen life lessons. I'm sick of you telling me that we have to be careful, I'm sick of being careful. I want to kiss you, I want to be able to be with you whenever I want, I want to love you."

"I was going to say that we'll wait until we get to court. I'll ask to be reassigned and then that's it; no more sneaking around. I promise."

I smiled, glad that it would soon be over. I made a move towards the door but Dimitri grabbed my hand and stopped.

"One last kiss before we go?" He grinned. I complied without hesitation.


	5. Chapter 5

5

I woke up so early the next morning and it still light outside. I glanced at the alarm clock, it was only quarter six. Baring in mind that I still had packing to do, I decided that going back to sleep wasn't worth it. Today was the day that we went to court. There we would find out our assignments. I already knew that I would be with Lissa but it was still exciting to know that soon our bond, my protection would be official.

I jumped out of bed and looked around my dorm room. Apart from the clothes strewn across the floor, you wouldn't believe that I had lived here for long. I didn't have many photographs or posters on the walls to personalise it, in fact, I only really had one photo on display, a picture of Lissa and me dressed as fairies one Halloween. I also noticed a few books about St Vladimir and Anna lying on my desk, I would need to return those before I left today.

I began the long and boring job of packing, coming across shirts that I had long forgotten that I owned. I came across a shirt for Portland University that I hadn't seen in a while, as well as a Killers shirt that I was sure I hadn't worn since about junior year. I grinned and threw the latter onto my bed for later.

Two hours later, my belongings were all packed and the sun was beginning to set; the sky was turning a gorgeous pink colour. I decided that it was late enough that some people might be down for breakfast, so I showered, put on the shirt and some jeans and headed out of the dorm. The warm air hit me as I walked out, I hadn't realised how much the air conditioning was doing for us today. This was going to be a great day.

Sadly, I had been wrong. Although there were multiple in the canteen, Lissa wasn't there yet so I ended up eating my coco pops in silence, I might have graduated but that didn't mean that I wasn't still a big kid. I was almost done when someone sat down beside me, I looked up.

"What do you want, Old Man?" I demanded, pissed off that my last breakfast at the Academy was being interrupted.

"I just came to say hello. I feel like we didn't really get off on the right foot last night."

"Huh, could that have something to do with you being a money making snake?"

"Nice choice of words," Abe said with a grin.

"What?" I had no clue what he was going on about; maybe the guy really was crazy.

"In Russia, they call me Zmey, it means snake. I was just pointing out that considering you only just met me last night, you seem to have me right."

"Yeah? Well you don't have me right. I'm not unreliable or untrustworthy, I'm not an idiot and I'm not a trouble maker." Okay, so maybe that wasn't entirely true, but he didn't need to know that. He just needed to understand that I was not happy with this new parental relationship in my life.

"Not a trouble maker, eh? I may not have been actively involved in your life up until now, but don't think that I haven't been keeping an eye on you. I know that you broke out of school with your best friend and that you don't exactly have the clearest of behavioural records."

"Listen, that happened over a year ago and you don't know anything about the situation so I don't need you to turn up out of the blue and give me shit about it."

"I wasn't going to. I was actually going to commend you on managing to keep her alive, not many novices your age could do that, never mind junior novices."

"Uh, thanks," I said, unwillingly. I didn't want to like the guy but he was the first person who had told me I'd done a good job in keeping Lissa alive, not even Dimitri had done that. Well, unless you counted Victor Dashkov, and believe me I did not.

"It was stupid, yes, but she's still alive. And after that trial yesterday, you're going to be a good guardian, Rosemarie." At that, Abe left, leaving me completely speechless.

"What the hell just happened?" I said to myself.

"What do you mean?" Lissa asked, appearing from nowhere and sitting down beside me.

"The creepy old man just complimented me and commended me for running away with you. He acknowledged that I did a good job in keeping you alive. How come a guy I barely know says that but my own mentor, who knows me better than most, can't see it?"

"Rose, are you really comparing Abe and Dimitri? You were insulting the guy last night and saying that you didn't want anything to do with him, now you're comparing him to someone that you practically idolise. Is that really an ideal comparison?"

"That's not the point, this doesn't change the fact that he made money out of me, or the fact that I don't really want anything to do with him. The point is he complimented me for keeping you alive, which is something that Dimitri has never done. Dimitri has never acknowledged the fact that you are still alive because of me, he probably still thinks it was just luck."

"Don't do that. Don't compare Dimitri to a guy that you think is crazy. Dimitri is a trained guardian, Abe isn't. You know that I think you're great but honestly, I kind of have to agree with them, we didn't face any major threats. You would be fine now, but imagine if we had faced a Strigoi back then, could you have handled it?" Lissa asked.

"Probably," I said, but then thought about it honestly. "Not."

"You would have done everything to keep me safe, I know that, but you wouldn't have been able to do much when you were months down on training and hadn't really done much fighting lately."

"Okay, okay. Can we talk about something a little less depressing, like my current brilliance rather than my old ineptitude?" I grinned.

"I don't think that you need to talk about your brilliance, it'll only make your head bigger." Lissa laughed.

"Morning," Christian said, sitting down next to her, taking her hand in his and kissing her.

"Are you two going to be like this all day?"

"Like what?" Lissa asked innocently.

"Cutesy." I rolled my eyes. "Should I be looking for a new plane buddy?"

"Yes," Christian said at the same time as Lissa's negative response.

"Don't worry about it, I'll find someone else." I sighed. Sadly them sitting together would mean more cutesiness, which I would then get to experience through the bond. "I still have packing to do, so I will see you later, Liss."

I left the happy couple eating breakfast and made my way back to the dorm. Dimitri fell into step with me half way.

"So, are you excited?" He asked.

"Yep, are you glad to be getting off campus? Finally getting some action instead of being stuck with a bunch of teenagers." I grinned.

"Yes, but not for that reason," he replied with love in his eyes. "And action isn't always exciting, it can end pretty badly."

I knew what Dimitri was referring to. He had lost his charge and best friend, and although he hadn't been on duty at the time, I knew that he still felt guilty about it. I also knew what he meant; I knew that action wasn't as exciting as I had once thought it was. Mason was proof of that.

"So, are you all packed and ready to go?" Dimitri asked, making small talk.

"Just about, I need to return some books to Father Andrew and then I think I'm done."

"Okay, do you want to do that now?" I looked across at him and think I understood what he meant: _do you want to go for a walk with me as an excuse to spend more time with me in a totally normal, innocent way._

"Sure, I'll just run upstairs and get them." We had reached the dhampir dorm so, true to my word, I ran upstairs, got the books and ran back down again.

"Ah, St Vladimir books."

"Yeah, did you think I had borrowed the Bible?" I laughed.

"The day you read the Bible, is the day I start to worry about you." Dimitri flashed one of those rare, beautiful smiles.

We walked in silence, so comfortable in each other's presence that we didn't need to talk. I gave the books back to Father Andrew but we didn't return to my dorm immediately. Instead we widened our _normal, innocent_ walk so that we were out in the woods, I was super aware that we would pass the cabin where we had sex the night of the attack, the night that I nearly lost Dimitri. That was also the last night that we had really been together, sure there had been stolen kisses, as there always had been with us, but we hadn't really been able to spend any time together unofficially. I couldn't wait until we reached court.

Thinking about that night also made me think of something else that Dimitri had said. Dimitri had told me that he was going to ask to be reassigned which would allow us to be together.

"What if you're reassigned to someone who is totally far away from Lissa? What happens if you get assigned to someone in Russia?" I suddenly asked.

"What?"

"I mean it, what if getting reassigned just makes everything worse?"

"It won't Rose. There are plenty of Moroi graduating this year, plus lots of older American Moroi, all of whom need guardians. People at this school seem to think I'm badass, so maybe someone will have put in a request."

"You are badass, Comrade!"

"So don't worry. We will be together. I made a promise, didn't I and when was the last time I broke a promise?" He smiled.

We were in the woods and far away from the watching eyes of any other students or teachers, so I decided that my next move would be safe. I pulled Dimitri to a stop and kissed him. He returned the kiss with as much passion as he had done last night, if not more, and I knew that he was right, everything was going to be alright.


	6. Chapter 6

6

Life at court felt free. I had only been there for four hours but I could already taste the freedom. We had been assigned rooms in guest housing, where we had no curfew and no opposite sex rules. There was also no Moroi/dhampir discrimination on room assignments which meant that Lissa and I had, miraculously, ended up three rooms apart.

Lissa and I had decided to ditch our friends and spend the day together. Eddie and Christian had gone to find Mia so we used our freedom to talk and explore our new home. Lissa had made an arrangement with Queen Tatiana that she would go to LehighUniversity so we would only be spending the summer here before heading there together, with me hopefully as her guardian. Even so, I wanted to explore Court and get the best out of our summer as few adults.

"Can you believe that soon it's just going to be me, you and Dimitri? We can do whatever we want!" Lissa was excited about the prospects of living at Court. I hadn't yet mentioned that Dimitri was going to be reassigned, for some reason I hadn't been able to find the words to tell her that because of me she was having an amazing, god-like guardian taken away from her, probably to be replaced by a newly graduated guardian.

"Uh, about that, Lissa…"

"What? Aren't you excited that you get to spend your time with us professionally and in your free time? I mean it allows you guys to be together without totally revealing it at first. You could say that you fell in love at work."

"Dimitri won't be guarding you." I blurted out.

"Why not?" Lissa face fell. "Doesn't he like me?"

It was typical of Lissa to think that it was about her, after all she was used to guardians taking the stance of _they come first_, but on this occasion it wasn't about her; Dimitri had put me first. Dimitri, perfect guardian that he was, had put me ahead of a Moroi.

"That's not it, Lissa." I paused. "Dimitri knew that if we were both guarding you then, if it came to it, we would try to save each other instead of you."

"Okay," she said quietly. "That's okay, I'm sure there will be someone else. Maybe I could get Eddie."

"Yeah, that would be fun." I grinned, that _would_ be fun.

"So, how are you guys going to reveal it? There's probably going to be some pretty pissed off people."

"I don't really know," I replied honestly. "I don't exactly want to announce it to everyone, that would be pretty awkward, but I'm sick of sneaking around."

"So don't tell anyone, just do it. Kiss him in front of everyone, if they do like it-"

"They can deal with it." I finished for her.

"Exactly. Maybe then I can finally see you happy."

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly shocked. "I am happy."

"Last few weeks you haven't been. I might not be able to sense your emotions through the bond, but I'm still your best friend. You've been moping since the attack, you hardly ever hang out and when you do your mind is somewhere else."

"I'm sorry, Liss." I knew that she had noticed something but to be honest I hadn't really been that bothered. "I just…"

"I get it, I do, and I'm glad that it can stop now; I can have my best friend back." She ginned. "Do you want to get a manicure, we could find Ambrose?"

I nodded and linked our arms together before we set off to find the dhampir. This was my chance to have fun with Lissa before hanging out became my job. As of next week, I would have to keep my eyes open at all times, searching for any potential threats.

* * *

"Hey, Comrade," I said as I approached Dimitri in a small café. He was sitting at a small table drinking hot chocolate and reading one of his western novels.

"Roza," he smiled, putting the book aside. "Have you had a good afternoon?"

"Yeah, do you remember Ambrose? Well we saw him and we got our nails done." I flashed my nails in front of my face and Dimitri chuckled. "Have you been here all afternoon with the cowboys?"

"No, I talked to Hans about getting reassigned." Dimitri said, the stoic look had returned to his face. This was serious. "He wanted to know why."

"Did you tell him about us?" I didn't want the Head of Guardians to know about our relationship before my friends but, thankfully, Dimitri shook his head.

"I told him that I had personal issues that would restrain me from doing the best job for Lissa and that I thought I would be better suited to someone else."

"So, what did he say?" I asked, excitedly.

"That I had been assigned to Lissa because I was a good guardian and Lissa needed all of the protection she get. Hans also told me that I shouldn't let personal matters get in the way of my work. Basically, they won't reassign me."

"But that's bullshit! What are we going to do now?"

"I'm kidding, Rose." Dimitri grinned. "I find out my new assignment with you and the other graduates."

"That wasn't fair, Comrade, in fact, that was just plain mean!"

"It was worth it for the look on your face. Come here." He moved his chair back so that I could sit on his knee. I did so and he kissed me. It wasn't anything special, it was just a kiss, but he had kissed me in public. It felt strange not to be hiding it and looking over my shoulder to make sure that no one had seen, but it also felt good.

Dimitri ordered me a hot chocolate as well as another for himself and we sat in the café talking. It was nice to sit with him openly and just talk. We were no longer student and teacher, we were finally equal.

It wasn't until much later that I heard from Lissa through the bond. She wanted to know if I was planning on joining everyone to go out for dinner. I would be able to spend all summer with my friends, Dimitri and I had a lot of time to make up for so I thought about telling Lissa that I would see her tomorrow when Dimitri noticed my distraction.

"Is everything okay? Is it Lissa?" He asked, his guardian face replacing the soft one that he had worn all afternoon.

"She's fine, she just wondered if I was joining them for dinner."

"Do you want to go?"

"I would rather stay here with you,"

"You shouldn't abandon your friends." Then I thought of the perfect solution.

"You know, you could always come with us?"

"Are you sure you want me there? I'm guessing that they don't know about us."

"It doesn't matter, they'll have to find out sooner or later and I want you to come."

Dimitri agreed, if a little reluctantly, and I slipped into Lissa's head to find out where they were going.

_"What do you guys fancy? Chinese, Italian?" Christian asked, taking Lissa's hand in his. Great, they were still being cute._

_"I say Italian." Adrian said, for once sounding completely sober. _

_Everyone agreed and they picked a restaurant. I was about to leave Lissa head when I heard my name mentioned. _

_"Where's Rose?" It was a girlish, high pitched voice; Mia. _

_"Uh," Lissa hesitated, she didn't want to tell our friends for me but she didn't want to lie to them. She knew that I didn't want to hide it but that didn't mean I wanted her to blurt it out. "She's with Dimitri, I think they're meeting us at the restaurant." _

_"Wait, they? You mean Rose and Guardian Belikov?" Eddie demanded sounding more than a little confused._

_"Yes, is that a problem?" Lissa replied civilly. _

_"Uh, I'm just surprised. Doesn't he have friends of his own to hang out with? I mean, I know that he was Rose's mentor but even so, can't he let go of her?" Lissa was starting to get bugged by his questions and I prayed that she wouldn't out me when I wasn't even there. My friends could work it out for themselves when I got there. _Please don't tell, Lissa! _Not for the first time, I wished that the bond wasn't one way, I wished that she could hear me too. Luckily, she didn't explain._

_"Ask them." _

"You coming?" I asked Dimitri with a smile.

"Are you sure that your friends won't mind? I don't want to impose."

"Oh get over it, Comrade, you're coming and that's final."

I took his hand in mine and we walked towards the restaurant the group had selected. I liked that soon my friends were going to know about my relationship. I looked forward to being able to talk about Dimitri openly, instead of having to hide and pretend that I wasn't interested in any guys. When we saw my friends, I felt Dimitri tighten his grip on my hand and realised why he had been so reluctant to come; he was nervous.

"Are you nervous about this, Comrade?" I stopped, pulling him close to me.

"No," he lied obviously which made me laugh. "These are your friends, the people who mean the most to you. I was their teacher and now I'm coming into their group, how do you think that's going to make them feel?"

"If they're not all idiots then it won't make them feel anything, except maybe happiness for me." I reached up and pressed my lips firmly against his for a second. "Now, stop worrying."

I turned back to my friends only to see all but Lissa and Adrian staring at us open mouthed.

"Rose, what the hell?" Eddie yelled angrily as we approached.

* * *

**Thanks for all the reviews guys, means a lot to me that you like it. :) Keep 'em coming!**


	7. Chapter 7

7

"Rose, what are you doing?" Eddie demanded.

"I'm coming to join you for dinner."

"What's with the teacher though?"

"Dimitri isn't our teacher any more," I replied, stating the obvious.

"And that makes it okay to bring him to dinner?"

"Yeah actually, it does. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Dinner, no. You holding his hand, yes."

"Well then I guess it's a good job that it isn't down to you, isn't it?" I was pissed off. They couldn't just be happy for me, could they?

"So, are we going inside?" Lissa asked, in an attempt to diffuse some of the tension. It didn't work.

"Why isn't this bothering you, Lissa?"

"Because I don't think it's that big of a deal. If they love each other then what's wrong with them being together?" Lissa was trying to help but I think that, somehow, the l word only made it worse.

"You think they're in love? That implies they've been together for a while which, you know, I'm hoping not seeing as not that long ago you were my best friend's girlfriend. Did Mason know? Or was your entire relationship a lie?"

"Eddie!" Lissa exclaimed.

"It's okay, Lissa, he has a point. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," I turned to Dimitri, an apologetic look on my face. "I'll come and find you later, okay?"

"Are you sure?" He asked but I nodded so he kissed my cheek and left.

"Listen to me Eddie, Mason and I were never really together-"

"Did Mason know that?" He repeated.

"Look we weren't really a proper couple. It was just flirting and he practically ended it right before he went to Spokane."

"So all this time, I've been keeping idiotic guys away from you because I thought you were upset about Mason, and you were sneaking around with some teacher?"

"No, Eddie!" I yelled. I was really beginning to lose it. I had known that telling my friends would be difficult but difficult seemed like an understatement considering the current situation I was in.

"Eddie, calm down." Mia laid a hand on his arm; I never thought that she would be sticking up for me against Eddie.

"Why the hell should I?"

"Because Mason wouldn't want this. Do you think he would want you bitching at Rose?"

"He sure as hell wouldn't want her running around with Belikov!"

"I'm not saying I agree with it, but Rose is your friend." And there went my gratitude towards Mia.

"Guys, let it go." Adrian sighed, seeming a little irritated on my behalf. "No one hates it more than me, but if she's happy then I'm not going to ruin that."

"I have to say, I agree with Adrian. Wow, that feels horrible." Christian turned to Lissa. "Never let that happen again. Please."

"Really? I can't believe I'm hearing this." Eddie shook his head in disgust. "She tells us she's in a relationship with a teacher and you think its okay?"

I wanted to cry. I wanted to go to my room and cry. However, that only pissed me off more because I hated feeling like that. I felt angry and emotional, it was a rare mix for me and one that I felt could be pretty lethal.

"Are you okay, Rose?" Lissa asked. I could tell through the bond that she knew I was getting annoyed, she could also tell I was upset.

"Oh yeah, Liss, I'm great. I thought I would bring the guy I like to dinner with my friends, the people who are supposed to be there for me no matter what, only to have him rejected and for me to be made to feel like shit. I'm on top of the world." I didn't mean to take it out on Lissa, she hadn't done anything wrong, but I couldn't help it.

I felt almost as crappy as I had done when Dimitri took me to the cabin, but this time it couldn't be blamed on absorbed darkness; this time it was entirely my own shitty emotions.

I saw the hurt look on Lissa's face and felt her pain through the bond. I felt bad but at the same time wondered what right she had to be hurt. Before I said anything else that I might regret tomorrow, I stormed back to guest housing and made it to my room just before the first tears ran down my face. I curled up in bed, still fully dressed, as the tears poured down my face. I had so hoped that my friends would accept Dimitri and that we could finally be together but Eddie clearly didn't plan on that happening any time soon.

Sometime later there was a knock on the door. I knew through the bond that it was Lissa, I didn't want to talk to her so I stayed quiet and didn't open the door. She finally went away after begging me, mentally and verbally, to let her in.

There was another knock on my door a few minutes later and I was about to tell Lissa to fuck off when I realised that it wasn't her. Through the bond, I could tell that she was back in her room. I didn't know who it was but I didn't want to see anyone so I still didn't respond.

"Roza," Dimitri's voice came softly through the door. I could hear the strain in his voice; he was worried about me.

Dimitri figured something out that the possibility of which hadn't even occurred to Lissa. In the hurry to get inside I hadn't locked my door. Dimitri let himself in and rushed to my side.

"Oh, Roza, I am so sorry." He kissed the top of my head, crouching by the bed.

I moved across and pulled him onto the bed beside me.

"It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is. I shouldn't have come with you tonight."

"No, it would have been fine if Eddie hadn't been such a-" Dimitri interrupted me with a kiss.

"Don't say something that you'll regret tomorrow."

"Oh believe me, I won't regret it tomorrow." Dimitri sighed but didn't say anything more. Instead he pulled me close to him and I continued to cry against his chest.

I was now pissed off not only because Eddie had been so horrible but also because I wasn't spending my first night of freedom relishing in my no longer punishable sex life, I was crying into Dimitri's shirt and looking completely pathetic. I knew that Dimitri wouldn't judge me for crying and wouldn't see me as pathetic or weak, but it still irritated me that he had to see me like this.

Eventually, the comfort of Dimitri's arms and his soothing words allowed me to drift off to sleep. Sadly though, it wasn't a peaceful sleep. Yet again, I had the dream but this time it didn't stop with the Strigoi biting Dimitri, suddenly I was alone with him. The other guardians had gone, as had all of the Strigoi, it was just Dimitri and me. What scared me the most was that Dimitri looked the same from a distance, he could still have been my Dimitri, but then he was right in front of me and I knew that he wasn't. This version of Dimitri had red rings around his usually gorgeous brown eyes. That wasn't the only difference in his eyes though; instead of being filled with love, hate brimmed close to the surface. I was prepared to deny that he was Strigoi when he put his arms around me in a way that was way to gentle for any Strigoi. He wrapped them around my waist, drawing us closer; I thought that he was going to kiss me. Instead, when he leant down it was to sink his fangs deep into my neck. I screamed so loudly that I woke up.

"Roza, are you alright?" Dimitri's voice came through the darkness. He tightened his arms around me but I pulled back. I had to check it was him.

"Dimitri?" The light coming through the curtains reflected in his eyes but there was no red. I pressed myself hard against his chest. "It's really you?"

"Of course it is, Roza, what's wrong?" His voice was thick with worry.

"The dream, it got worse tonight," I said into his shirt.

"I thought it had stopped."

"It never did."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I shrugged my shoulders. "You should have said something."

"I didn't know how."

Dimitri pulled back and looked at me, the panic clouding his, thankfully, brown dhampir eyes.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Dimitri knew about the original part of the dream so I began with the new extension.

"Roza, I had no idea that it was so bad."

"Tonight was the first time I saw that. I'm scared, Dimitri."

"There is nothing to be scared of; it was just a dream. I would never hurt you, Strigoi or not, you know that don't you?" There was a waver in Dimitri's voice. It was almost as if he too was afraid, afraid that I didn't believe that.

"I know," I rested my hand on his cheek.

Dimitri and I lay holding on to each other for dear life. I was scared by the dream and Dimitri was worried about me. Despite trying desperately to stay awake for me, he fell asleep and I was glad. I didn't want him to suffer because of my over active and ridiculous imagination. Why did my mind think that Dimitri was capable of hurting me? _Because he was Strigoi, they don't feel. _I tried to shut up my own mind but I couldn't because I knew that it was right; if Dimitri turned Strigoi he wouldn't love me anymore, I would simply be a threat to be dealt with. I didn't sleep again that night; I couldn't face the dream again and I wanted to ensure that Dimitri was alright, that he remained dhampir whilst he slept.


	8. Chapter 8

8

Thankfully, my friends came around. After a little persuasion, they welcomed Dimitri into our group which was good because when we finally received our assignments Dimitri got Christian. I thanked my lucky stars when I was assigned to Lissa, despite my cocky exterior, I had always been slightly worried as to whether my behaviour and reputation would affect my assignment. Dimitri and I still got to spend time together officially as Lissa and Christian spent practically their entire summer together. Admittedly, the guardian side took a slight backseat until trips outside of Court when Dimitri and I had to be professional but we didn't mind. I tended to act as near guard whilst Dimitri kept a little distance. I wasn't looking forward to September when our happy little bubble would be torn apart but in those moments I didn't care.

It was a hot July day when Lissa and Christian decided to have a picnic a little way away from Court. I used some rather sneaky tactics, mostly suggestive comments about what could be done when we went to bed that night, to convince Dimitri to act a little less professionally and join us on the picnic rug.

The day was perfect but sadly that wasn't to last. Everything began to go wrong when Christian invited Lissa for a walk. They took off alone and we stupidly decided that in a quiet, human park they would be safe. That was our first mistake. Our second was to relish in the privacy. Dimitri kissed me and I became so distracted in our intimacy that it took me a little while to notice Lissa's fear radiating through the bond.

"Shit, Dimitri, stop." Unlike most guys, Dimitri didn't object to my halting our fun; he was immediately back in guardian mode. "They're being attacked."

We jumped to our feet and he followed me as I followed Lissa's terror.

"Strigoi?"

"No, it's only humans," I paused, nausea creeping into my stomach. "But I can sense them around somewhere."

We quickly picked up the pace and found Lissa attempting to fight off a tall, muscled guy whilst Christian was trying to throw fireballs at a fast moving human who was somehow able to dodge them. I realised suddenly that Christian's opponent was not human, no human would be able to dodge fireballs so easily; he was dhampir. I was shocked but didn't have time to consider the strange situation that was a dhampir assisting Strigoi. Dimitri and I threw ourselves into the fight without hesitation and had the two down in moments. The dhampir was well trained but he was no match for Dimitri.

"What the hell just happened?" Lissa asked, breathlessly.

"Are you alright?" She nodded. Thank god. I couldn't relax though because I could still feel the Strigoi's presence in the pit of my stomach. "It isn't over, Dimitri, they're still here."

"Who's still here?" Christian demanded as Dimitri gave one sharp nod, not letting his guard down yet.

"Strigoi!" Lissa screamed.

Dimitri and I began to fight again but there were so many of them. I realised our third mistake, we hadn't taken Lissa and Christian straight back to the more populated area of the park. The Strigoi wouldn't have exposed themselves in such an open area and then we would have been safe, Lissa would have been safe. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to Lissa.

"Christian, get her out of here." I yelled to the boy who stood protecting my best friend and setting on fire any Strigoi who came near her. As much as I didn't like him, I knew that he would protect Lissa until the end. I expected him to protest, to say that he could help, but he didn't. He grabbed Lissa's hand and pulled her away from us and the fight.

"Rose!" She screamed in protest.

"Just go, we'll be fine." I wasn't sure how true that was but it was the only way to get Lissa away. There were about fifteen Strigoi and only two of us; that wasn't good odds.

Dimitri and I continued to fight, protecting each other as well as ourselves.

"Rose, look out!" Dimitri yelled.

"Thanks," I shouted back, slamming my stake into the heart of a Strigoi sneaking up behind me. I didn't have time to say much more because I had to spin back around to the one I had previously been fighting.

Somehow we managed to get the Strigoi until there were just two left. Dimitri managed to stake his but the one that I fought was being difficult. There were a couple of close calls involving his fangs and my neck but my badass hero came to my rescue just in time.

"Nobody bites my Roza." Dimitri snarled, staking the Strigoi with a look in his eyes that scared even me.

"Are you alright?" He rushed to my side, his eyes skimming my neck.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. We have to find Liss and Christian."

"Don't worry?" Dimitri chuckled but it was only half hearted. "I can't help but worry when you nearly get bitten."

Dimitri's lips came down fiercely on mine. He backed me up against a tree, his body pressed so close against mine that it was impossible to tell the difference between our bodies. His hands tangled up in my ponytail, pulling the elastic out and letting it fall across my shoulders. He then ran his fingers through it.

"I love you, and I couldn't bear it if I lost you." He murmured against my lips.

"I love you too. And if that's how you react when I nearly die, I have _got_ to do it more often." I laughed.

"Not funny." I kissed him again.

"You know, we should really find them now. You know, guardian duties and all."

Dimitri swore in Russian, and I immediately realised that this was a prime example of something that we had both been concerned about when we were first falling in love; Dimitri had just put me before both of our charges.

As it turned out, they were both fine. I established through the bond that Christian had taken Lissa back to the car and driven a mile down the road back towards Court. I was kind of annoyed that we had lost our ride but I was grateful that Christian had had the brains to get her away quickly. Dimitri and I packed up the picnic before walking the mile to where they waited for us. It only took us a few minutes due to our long legs and eagerness to get back to our friends.

"Oh my god, Rose, you're alive!" Lissa jumped out of the car and threw her arms around me.

"Of course I am. It takes more than fifteen Strigoi to bring me down!" I grinned, hugging her back.

After a moment she let go of me and hugged Dimitri too. He seemed a little surprised but placed his hands awkwardly on her back.

"Thank you, Christian," I said. I hated saying it but Christian deserved the credit.

"Well, well, well, Rose Hathaway acknowledging that I did something right." He smirked.

"I mean it. You could have stayed and fought with us like at the Academy but you didn't. You saved Lissa."

"I might like to fight but her life means more to me than anything." I realised in that moment that he meant it; he really did love her.

"Aw, Christian." Lissa kissed her boyfriend. Ugh, they were so damn cute.

We soon made our way back to Court, aware that we were safer inside the wards. Dimitri and I would need to report the attack, especially when it had taken place so close to Court. I had the car keys and was just about to get into the car when Dimitri swiped them out of my hand.

"Hey!"

"You were nearly killed, you shouldn't be driving."

"Comrade, that isn't the reason and you know it. You just can't stand anyone else driving your car." Dimitri shrugged, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Well, tough."

I got in the driver's seat and shut the door, leaving him standing there. Dimitri frowned at me for a few moments before sighing and getting in on the passenger side.

"You know, you really are the most stubborn person I know." Dimitri handed me the keys reluctantly.

"I know." I grinned back.

* * *

I spent that night in Dimitri's room. He still couldn't believe how close he had come to losing me and seemed to be eager to enjoy my continued existence.

"I nearly lost you," Dimitri said quietly in my ear. His fingers skimmed the edge of my shirt. Our lips met. "So you need to know how much I love you."

Off came my shirt. "Because I do."

"I love you too." Our lips touched again.

I quickly caught Dimitri up to me, pulling off his top too. Our clothes were removed so quickly that it could have been mistaken for Strigoi speed and we were soon on the bed.

"I don't want to lose you, ever."

"I'm not going anywhere," I promised.


	9. Chapter 9

9

Lissa's first year at Lehigh passed uneventfully. We saw Dimitri and Christian a few times over the year and although I hated the separation, I was getting used to the dhampir mantra; _they come first_.

We were on our way home to Court for the summer and I could barely contain my excitement. I was going to Russia with Dimitri to meet the rest of the Belikov family. I was a little nervous but the majority of the butterflies in my stomach were because of excitement. I was finally going to meet Dimitri's family. I was a little apprehensive because I wasn't sure if they would like me. Not long ago, I had been completely against dhampir relationships and yet here I was, happily a part of one, but what if his family had the same views? I was also aware that Dimitri's family lived in a dhampir commune and so I wondered if they would disapprove of my choice to remain as a guardian.

There was one part that I couldn't deny my excitement for though, I was going to be spending three weeks of my summer with just Dimitri. We had taken the time off from Lissa and Christian which meant that we could focus on each other instead of having to focus on them. Lissa had been assigned a second guardian who was much older and so hadn't really been able to do as much due to her time at college. It had seemed more appropriate that I would take the majority of the shifts due to our similar ages. I was more than happy with that, it may have seemed selfish but I didn't want to leave Lissa's life in he hands of anyone else. On this trip, however, I was more than willing. I ran my hand over the back of my neck where the six molnijas had been tattooed on my neck last year; nine molnijas was pretty remarkable for a nineteen year old guardian. Scratch that, it was remarkable for most guardians. I remembered a young girl on the elementary campus, I think her name was Jill, who had been awestruck by my presence in her dorm. I had been surprised by her admiration but now I could kind of understand; I was better than most guardians.

When we arrived back at Court, Christian was waiting for us. I didn't need the bond to tell that Lissa was pleased to see him. The presence of the bond had become a lot worse what with Lissa being at college due to the fact that on those rare occasions when they saw each other, they liked to make the most of it. I had learned to block out most of their sexual escapades but sometimes, when Lissa's emotions were extra strong or I had let my guard down a little, I would be pulled into her head. I told my friends that I would see them in a few weeks and set off for the little house that Dimitri and I called home. Although, I was at Lehigh most of the year, Christian had decided to remain at Court, helping his aunt with her martial arts classes. That meant that Dimitri too spent most of his time at Court so he had decided to buy a house instead of constantly residing in guest housing. It was a great little house that I loved coming back to each time I was at Court.

"Dimitri? Are you home?" I called as I entered the house.

"In here."

I followed the sound of his voice and found him curled up on the sofa reading one of his many Westerns. I rolled my eyes, I might have known.

"Come on, Comrade, haven't you read all of these?" I plucked the book out of his hands and tossed it aside.

"Nope, and even I I had, there's something nice about reading a book you've already read."

"But you know how it's going to end, doesn't that take all of the fun out of it?" I objected.

"Oh, Roza." Dimitri sighed.

"What?"

Dimitri didn't reply, instead deciding that the previous conversation wasn't as important as welcoming me home. I was glad to see that the welcome involved a lot of kissing and being in close proximity.

"We have a plane to catch." He said, pulling back after god knows how long.

I groaned in protest. "But I've missed you. Haven't you missed me?"

I knew that it was a harsh card to play, I knew that he had missed me, but I wanted a little more kissing before we went out in public where I knew that our intimacy would be scaled down. As much as Dimitri might enjoy our relationship in privacy, he still liked to appear stoic and professional in public.

I received another kiss as reassurance that he had missed me before I was pulled from the couch and taken to the airport.

We had a short drive to the airport before we got on a plane to Moscow. I had been working on keeping my guard up against the ghosts but I still got a bitch of a headache when we were in the air so I left Dimitri with his Western and fell asleep.

When he woke me, we were circling Moscow and getting ready to land. He pointed out some of the sights and gave little anecdotes about times that he had visited them with his family.

"It's a shame we won't have time to look around. We'll have to save all of our sightseeing for Siberia; you know, tundra and polar bears." I grinned.

"You really are going to be surprised when we get there, Roza, it's nothing like what you have pictured," he laughed.

He was right. We caught another flight to Omsk before renting a car for the drive to Baia, Dimitri's hometown. On the drive, I saw much of the Siberian countryside and it was nothing like how I had imagined it. The land was green, full of life, far from tundra, and so beautiful. As nice as the drive was though, I grew more nervous as we approached.

We were only halfway when darkness fell and deciding that it was too late to continue the journey, Dimitri pulled into a small B&B. I felt the nausea roll over me and realised our mistake before we were even out of the car.

"Dimitri," I said, urgently. "There are Strigoi here."

He swore in Russian and jumped out of the car, stake already in hand. "We can't go anywhere."

Normally I would have laughed at his remark but now really wasn't the time. There were only two Strigoi so after a short struggle we took them down fairly easily.

"Well, that was easy; hardly even worth it." I said, half joking.

I spoke too soon. A second later, I was grabbed from behind. An arm went around my throat, a single movement could have broken my neck.

"Don't move or she gets it," the Strigoi told Dimitri who had been ready to pounce.

I tried to think of ways to get out of the creature's grip but his hold was so tight that I couldn't focus on anything else. I couldn't breathe but I didn't want to die from suffocation, that was hardly an admirable way to go. I realised that I wasn't going to die like that though, when I felt fangs sink into my neck.

"I love you, Dimitri." I tried to shout it as loudly as I could but I think it only came out as a whisper.

"Don't say it like its goodbye. You won't become one of them, I won't let you!" Dimitri stammered before throwing himself in my direction. It was about then that I blacked out.


	10. Chapter 10

10

I opened my eyes and saw the world in a way that I never had. I wasn't sure how long I had been down because it now looked almost as bright as the day. But then I looked across to see Dimitri still fighting with the Strigoi and I realised what had happened. Dimitri had been wrong, I _had_ become a Strigoi and boy did it feel great. I could hear and see things that I had never before noticed.

"Comrade, give up the fight. You know what they say; if you can't beat them, join them, and you sure as hell can't beat us," I told him.

"I will never join you." Dimitri finally overpowered my awakener and staked him.

I would have pitied him but honestly, I didn't care. Now I had no one to answer to, so technically the dhampir had done me a favour.

"Why not? This is actually pretty cool." I grinned.

Shock crossed Dimitri's face and I laughed. He couldn't believe that I would like this, but honestly, what was their not to like; strength, speed and power. If you ask me, they're all good things.

"I made a promise," he said, lunging at me. I threw him away with ease.

"Oh God, not that stupid 'kill me if I go Strigoi' promise. I didn't know any better then and let's just say, I've had a change of heart."

"More like a loss of heart," Dimitri replied, the coldness in his voice rivalled most Strigoi. However, his strength was no match for my own newly awakened power.

"You aren't really going to try it are you?" I watched as he stood back up, dusting himself off and spoke patronisingly. "Aw, you are!"

Dimitri threw himself at me again, this time having a little more effect that I would have liked. This was not what I wanted.

"Join me," I repeated coldly. "You would love it. The enhanced sound, the better vision. You could see and hear things that you never imagined possible. You could be so much faster than you are now, so much more powerful."

I didn't really care about the things I spoke of, but I knew from my dhampir life that he was a romantic and those were probably the aspects he would most appreciate. Me, I just couldn't wait for my first kill.

"I will never join you." He attempted to punch me but I barely even noticed as I swatted his fist away from face.

We continued for a while longer, a part of me was glad that I was finally his equal in combat, but the rest of me just wanted him dead. If he wouldn't join me then I couldn't exactly let him go, he would only kill more of my kind. Suddenly, I don't know how it happened but he was on top of me, stake pressed against my heart.

"I am so sorry, Roza, but one promise must be broken to keep another more important." Dimitri plunged the stake into my chest.

A dhampir memory popped up and was the last of my immortal life. I recalled Dimitri promising that he would never hurt me. A small, romantic piece of my mind still remained and it knew that I could not be angry at him for breaking that promise. After all, I had sworn that I would never leave him…


	11. Chapter 11

11

"Rose," A pained voice was calling my name. I knew that I should have recognised it but I couldn't, I knew that I should have responded but I couldn't. "Rose."

I struggled, somehow managing to open my heavy eyelids, and looked up at a beautiful face that looked over me.

"Are you an angel?" I didn't think Strigoi went to heaven but I couldn't think of another explanation for the wonderful face.

"What the hell?" Okay, maybe not an angel. "Roza?"

That name triggered something in my memory. This was Dimiti, the man I loved. And oh god, I had just called him an angel. Yes, I did think he was that gorgeous but he was never going to let me forget it now.

"Dimitri? But, I was Strigoi, you staked me." The confusion clouded my voice, resulting in a few wavers as I spoke.

"No, you weren't." Dimitri's face mirrored my own confusion. "The bastard was drinking your blood, so I killed him. It's like I told you, I will never let you become one of those creatures."

"But I remember it all."

"It must have been a dream." He kissed my forehead and I realised then that I was wrapped up in his arms.

I was alive and it was wonderful. The dream me had been glad to be a Strigoi but I was more than happy that I wasn't, more like ecstatic. Sure the improved sight and hearing had been pretty cool but even just imagining the thirst and the excitement about a first kill, well that now made me feel sick.

"We should get inside." Dimitri said quickly. "Can you walk?"

I hesitated, thinking about the question and how much blood I had lost. "Not sure."

It turned out that I could just about walk, but had to lean on to Dimitri for a little extra support. The kind owner welcomed us and although she only spoke Russian, I could tell from her expression that she was worried about me. Dimitri reassured her that I just needed sleep and asked for a room for us for the night.

"I was so scared down there," Dimitri said as he helped me to lie down on the bed.

It was a double bed, but a small one, so when he joined me we had no choice but to snuggle close together, not that I was complaining. I had thought that I was Strigoi, I now realised how much of a risk it was in this job and decided that I would never again waste a single second of my time with Dimitri.

"So was I," I replied honestly. I had been intending to make some kind of joke, but I saw the truth in Dimitri's eyes and realised that his honesty warranted my own; I had been truly terrified.

I rested my head on his chest, thankful that we were both still alive, and fell asleep.

For the first time in a very long time, I had a completely dreamless sleep. When I woke up, light was streaming in through the window. I rolled over and found Dimitri reading his book, I grinned. His damp hair and changed clothes made me think that he had been awake for some time.

"Morning, sleepy head." He smiled that glorious smile and I melted inside.

"Good morning, what time is it?"

"About ten."

"Ten? Jesus, I didn't think you would leave me asleep for that long."

"I figured you could probably do with it. Anya said that she would make breakfast for us whenever you woke up."

"Anya?" I raised one eyebrow. From the sounds of it he had been busy whilst I was sleeping.

"The lady who we spoke with last night, she is the owner of this B&B."

"Ah, do I have time for a shower?" He nodded and I was glad. I could feel some dried blood on my neck and desperately wanted to get rid of it.

After I had showered, I took a minute to look at my neck in the mirror. It was badly bruised and I could still see where the fangs had bitten in. I left my hair down in the hope that it would cover the marks. Dimitri was waiting for me in the bedroom with clean clothes that I thankfully put on instead of the crumpled clothes that I had worn yesterday and then slept in.

"How's your neck?" Dimitri moved my hair aside. He looked at the bruising and then kissed it gently.

"I'll survive," I said lightly, grinning at him.

"You always do. Though, I sometimes wonder how."

We ate breakfast with Anya still rambling away in Russian. I was going to have to learn the language if I wanted to come back here again, I only prayed that Dimitri's family spoke English.

We arrived in Baia in the early evening, just as the sun was beginning to set. Dimitri parked the car and looked across at me. He could tell that I was nervous but didn't offer any words of comfort, he simply chuckled at my apprehensive expression.

"Strigoi you can handle, but you're nervous meeting my family?"

"Shut up, Comrade. I remember you being a little worried when I tried to take you to dinner."

"You'll be fine, they're going to love you! After all, I do." He smiled, kissing me softly before exiting the car.

"Dimka!" A girl, perhaps a year or so younger than me, ran out of the house and flung herself at Dimitri. They began speaking in fast Russian that I couldn't understand a word of.

Other members of the family came out and greeted him too. I remembered Dimitri telling me that he had grown up as the only boy in a house of women and I saw now just what he meant. Four women came out to greet him, one younger than me and two older as well as his mother. Even I could tell that they were all happy to see him, despite not speaking a word of Russian. I stood back a little, watching the reunion. Dimitri hadn't seen his family in a very long time and it was nice to see him so relaxed and open with someone other than me.

We were escorted into the house and I stuck close by Dimitri's side whilst he continued to speak with his mother and sisters.

After a few minutes inside the house, I turned to Dimitri and spoke quietly. "They do speak English, don't they?"

"Of course, I am so sorry, Rose," Dimitri's mother said. "We got a little carried away there and forgot that you do not speak much Russian."

"More like any." Dimitri elbowed me playfully. This wasn't a side of him that I saw very often but it was one that I certainly liked.

I realised that my nerves had been stupid. I had no reason to be worried because the Belikov family was kind and welcoming, as happy to see me as they were Dimitri. Was I really surprised that they were so kind when they were the people that Dimitri had grown up with? These were the people who had shaped Dimitri into the kind, caring, wonderful man that he was, so it should really have been no surprise at all.

Dimitri then introduced me to each of his family members; his mother, Olena; younger sister, Viktoria; and two older sisters, Karolina and Sonya. Karolina had two children of her own, a boy and a baby girl.

We had arrived just in time for dinner and Olena had made a large spread of food for us. We sat at the table and helped ourselves to some interesting looking food, I avoided some of it. There was one particular dish that involved cabbage and looked disgusting; I made a particular effort to avoid it. Dimitri laughed as I pulled faces at some of the things that I had been braver in trying.

"Try this." Dimitri passed me a slice of black bread before cutting himself some too.

I decided not to question the slightly worrying colour of the bread and took a bite; it was delicious and I wasted no time in telling them all so.

"Thank you, Rose. It was a childhood favourite of Dimitri's." She smiled kindly, not that I could imagine Olena Belikov being anything other kind. I glanced at Dimitri, I was going to like this trip. I would certainly enjoy hearing more about Dimitri when he was little. "Eventually, I taught him to make it for himself. I told him that if he was going to eat it all then he could make it for himself."

"I often make it in the US too."

"You do?" I was surprised, I had never seen Dimitri baking bread and I would happily watch. It wasn't exactly the sort of thing you expected from Dimitri; bread baking and battle god wasn't a common combination.

"Yes, Rose." He chuckled. "You are hardly ever at home though."

"They come first." I sighed sadly.

"So what's it like, being a guardian?" Viktoria asked me.

"It's great. I'm lucky because my charge is best friend, and because this guy is assigned to her boyfriend." I grinned at Dimitri. "Are you looking forward to being one?"

"Oh, I won't be a guardian," Viktoria replied. She didn't even seem bothered about it, and I was surprised. I couldn't imagine life doing anything other than guarding Lissa but it occurred to me that none of the women in Dimitri's family were guardians. "I get all the same training at school, and I like being able to defend myself but I'd rather use it in defence of my family than Moroi. It probably sounds a bit sexist but the men become guardians and the women stay at home."

"Huh," I said simply. I thought that it was crazy, but I didn't want to offend them so kept it at that. Dimitri looked at me, a slight smile played at the edge of his lips but his eyes showed just how amusing he found my reaction. I elbowed him, not quite as playfully as he had done earlier.

I noticed Olena watching us and looked at my dinner plate awkwardly. I had long since lost the strange feeling that had once come with being openly affectionate with Dimitri due to the previously required secrecy, but it still felt weird in front of his mom.

We were shown to our room later on that evening and, as much as I loved the Belikov family, I was glad to have some time alone with Dimitri.

"Is this your old room?" I asked, looking around the room. He nodded. "Wow, this is where you grew up."

I grinned and wandered around. There was a bookshelf that held a lot of books, some English and some with Cyrillic titles. There were also some CDs, most of which I wouldn't have recognised if I didn't know Dimitri's 'interesting' taste in music.

I then looked to the wooden desk, I could imagine a young Dimitri sitting in the chair and doing his homework over the summer. I picked up a small silver frame; it contained a photo of two young men. They both wore open, happy smiles and were stood in front of some kind of landmark that I didn't recognise. One was obviously Dimitri, but I didn't know the other. A moment later, I realised, this was Ivan. Ivan Zeklos had been Dimitri's charge before he came to the US and he had once told me that they had been close.

"That was one of the last days we spent together." I hadn't heard Dimitri approach, bad guardian form, but his voice came from right behind me. He took the frame from my hand and sat on the bed, I sat down beside him. "We shared a flat in Saint Petersburg with Aleksandr, Ivan's other guardian. We were just mucking about that day, wandering around the city and looking at the sights; we had all seen them before but realised that none of us actually knew much about them. Aleks took the photo."

"Was Aleks the guardian…?" I trailed off, knowing that I didn't need to finish the sentence.

"Yeah, I was here but they were still in the city. It was just a back alley, they took a shortcut home after a night out and… Well, you know how it ends; they were both killed. I should have been there."

"Oh, Dimitri, you couldn't have done anything." Unfortunately, I didn't entirely believe that either but I hoped that I had come across as convincing.

"I wish you could have met him, you would have loved Ivan." Dimitri grinned at me, but it didn't quite reach his distant eyes.

I pressed a kiss to his cheek and brought him back to the present. He put the photo back on the desk then lay back on the bed, pulling me along too, and kissed me properly.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey guys, sorry for the long gap between updates. I'm on holiday at the moment so haven't had much time to write and also the internet connection is crap. I'm home on Monday so updates should get more regular. Thanks for reading...

Also realised, I haven't done any disclaimers: I don't own VA, sadly, it all belongs to the brilliant Richelle Mead.

* * *

12

I woke before Dimitri, and not knowing his family especially well, I decided to stay in bed. I wasn't sure how long Dimitri would sleep for so I made a decision that I would probably regret later; I went to the bookcase and picked out one of the books, I decided not to bother even attempting the Russian ones. I sat at the desk and began the book. I wanted to know what was so fascinating about westerns that made Dimitri so keen to read them all of the time.

"What are you doing, Roza?" Dimitri had obviously woken up but when I glanced across, I wasn't sure how long he had been awake. His head was propped up on his arm and he was studying me carefully. His soft brown hair wasn't tied back and so it fell around his face, making him look oh so gorgeous.

"Reading."

"I got that," Dimitri replied dryly. I held the book up to show him and he laughed. "Really, Roza?"

"I wanted to know what all of the fuss was about."

"And?" He arched one eyebrow; damn I was still jealous of that. I really would have to get him to teach me how to do that. "What do you think?"

I realised that I had been staring at him and his eyebrow for little too long and replied quickly. "It's good. I'm not far through but it has some pretty good action. The girls are pathetic though; why are they all damsels in distress, not all women need a man to save them?"

Dimitri laughed, something he had done more of on this trip than during our entire time at the Academy.

"But not all women are as strong as you."

"Well no, but couldn't they at least throw in one female cowboy. Maybe make her better than the guys."

"Oh?"

"Well yeah, are you suggesting girls can't beat boys?"

"Not at all. Just remind me, when was the last time you beat me?" Dimiti paused, grinning. I would have argued if he hadn't grabbed my hand and pulled me back to the bed. He moved across, making room for me to lie next to him before proceeding to kiss me.

"You know, you never did tell me what you thought of my family?"

"They're great. Your mother is so kind, and your sisters seem nice too."

"I'm glad you like them. I was watching you yesterday and it was quite funny to see your reaction to certain things."

"Oh, you were laughing at me?"

"Of course. No one else pulls the faces you do at food. Normally, you can't get enough to eat."

"Normally," I retorted. "The food is American."

"Oh, Roza." He smiled again, arms wrapping tighter around me. "Your reaction to my mother was certainly worthy of laughter."

"When?"

"When you attacked me." That wasn't exactly how I would have described it.

"I felt weird. I mean she's your mom and, I don't know, you were smiling at me like that." I was rambling and I knew it.

"She was just curious, they all are. They've never really seen me in love before, I think it's kind of strange for them all. They look at the way we are together and they see that we're in love. I suppose my sisters are curious to see because my parents were never exactly good example of romance." I remembered Dimitri telling me about his father. The man had been abusive towards their mother until Dimitri, only thirteen years old, had beaten the guy up and sent him on his way.

"I guess so. I'm just worried they're going to think I'm leading you astray or something."

"No leading required." Dimitri kissed me passionately.

As much as I would have liked to stay in bed all day with Dimitri, I knew that we had to get up. Karolina's two children had already been in bed when we arrived last night and so we got a chance to meet them that morning. Paul had only been small when Dimitri had left and Zoya hadn't even been born, so meeting the two children was almost as strange for Dimitri as it was for me.

"Uncle Dimka!" Paul launched himself at Dimitri as soon as we entered the kitchen; clearly the kid had some memory of his uncle. I smiled as Dimitri ruffled the eleven year's hair and picked up his niece. Dimitri looked so happy and natural with children that my heart lurched; that was the one thing that I could never give him. I, personally, didn't especially want kids, they were annoying little things that cried and ruined your career, but it had never occurred to me that Dimitri might. Seeing him now made me wonder. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind as Olena greeted me.

"Good morning, would you like some hot chocolate?" She smiled. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes please and I did thank you."

Olena had six mugs in front of her on the counter and began heaping in powder.

"Doubling is the secret." She smiled knowingly and I couldn't help smiling too. Dimitri had said the exact same thing to me back at St Vladimir's. I could tell that this trip was going to be an eye-opener where I found out the secret behind a lot of Dimitri's tips and life lessons.

At that point an ancient woman that I had not yet met entered the kitchen, I assumed it must be Dimitri's grandmother. Dimitri had only spoken of the woman a few times and one of those times had been in connection to magic, and im not talking about the normal Moroi kind. When we were at Court for Victor's trial, for a laugh, we had visited a fortune teller. My fortune had been pretty crappy so I hadn't believed in her, but Dimitri had taken Rhonda's words seriously. He had actually worried about them too, which eventually led to us having sex. Not that I was complaining but it would have been better if it hadn't been because Dimitri thought he was going to lose me. The old woman greeted Dimitri in Russian, and again, I didn't need to understand the language to know that he was pleased to see her. A moment later, Dimitri seemed to remember my presence and began to introduce me. He did not get a chance, however, when his grandmother waved her had dismissively in my direction. Clearly she did not want to know me. I felt a wave of hurt pass over me, quickly replaced by anger. Why did the woman hate me before she even knew me?

"I'm sorry, Roza. She can be a little temperamental sometimes but don't worry, she'll come around." Dimitri came up beside me and took my hand in his. He then proceeded to his my cheek before taking two cups of hot chocolate and sitting at the table; I joined him.

"So do you two have any plans for today?" Olena asked.

"I have barely been here one day, and already you're trying to get rid of me?" Dimitri chuckled as he responded to his mother's question.

"No, Dimka."

"I thought I might show Rose around Baia."

"Ooh, can I come?" Viktoria asked as she bounced into the room.

"Of course, if you want to." Dimitri smiled.

I was kind of looking forward to getting to know Viktoria a little better. She seemed nice and reminded me quite a lot of Dimitri.

Once we had eaten and got dressed, Dimitri, Viktoria and I left the house. They were both eager to show me their town and I was eager to see it. I wanted to know more about Dimitri's history, I wanted to know where he had grown up, all the hide outs he had visited when he was younger. I was also curious about the nature of the town though. There were lots of dhampirs in Baia but there were also many humans. The humans certainly didn't fit in with the stereotypical image of a blood whore commune. The more I saw of Baia, the more I realised that the stereotype was wrong. Dimitri had told me before that it wasn't what I thought it was but I had had no idea just how normal a town it was. Sure there were Moroi men coming to town now and again, but the town wasn't all about sex and blood. It was about community and friendship, even between dhampirs and humans.

I held Dimitri's hand as we strolled through Baia, our fingers intertwined. I wasn't required to say much because Viktoria and Dimitri were the ones pointing things out to me. Well, I say Viktoria _and _Dimitri, but it was more just Viktoria. She seemed to be excited about the tour; more I excited that I had ever realised was possible about something as mundane as a town tour. She pointed out all of the key places in Baia, such as the church (was that where Dimitri had spent many a day as he had at St Vlad's?), the grocery store (not sure why that was a key place but hey), as well a few other shops and places that she thought I might be interested in.

"Can we see the church?" I asked as we walked near it again. Dimitri glanced at me with one eyebrow raised and a smirk playing across his lips. He knew that I wasn't in any way religious but Viktoria had no such knowledge and led us inside.

"Why are we in here?" Dimitri spoke quietly in my ear. "And I know it's not because you suddenly want to pray and ask for forgiveness."

"You used to go to church at the Academy; you said it made you feel at peace, I'm guessing you must have done the same here. I want to see every aspect of your life before me; I want to know everything about you."

"You already know more about me than anyone else."

That was true. Dimitri was a stoic guardian who didn't often let people see his emotions. He couldn't easily hide things from me though; I could see into his soul, see his emotions even when he held the most stoic, guardian expression. Dimitri unexpectedly pressed his lips to mine, it was a soft gentle kiss than conveyed so much love.

"You just kissed me in a church," I gaped, pretending to be shocked. "What will God say?"

"Since when do you care what God thinks? And anyway, plenty of people kiss in church." There was a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"Sure if they're getting married." I paused, watching his smile spread to encompass his whole mouth. "No, I know what you're getting at and no!"

"You don't want to marry me?" Dimitri actually looked hurt. I felt kind of bad and rushed to make up for it.

"I'm not saying never, but I'm only nineteen!" Dimitri was seven years older than me and so he was at the age where settling down was more commonplace. I knew that Dimitri was the one for me, there was no doubt about it, but I had no intentions of getting married until there was at least a two at the beginning of my age.

"Okay. I didn't mean now anyway." The smile returned but it was softer now, more loving than playful. "When I propose you'll know about it."

I pressed my lips against his for a second before scanning my gaze around the church.

"This place is beautiful. Makes St Vlad's look pretty dismal in comparison, but don't tell Father Andrew I said that."

"It is beautiful." Dimitri agreed.

A moment later Viktoria returned; I wasn't sure when or where she had gone but I was glad that she hadn't been around to overhear our marriage discussion.

"Do you guys mind if I disappear off?" She looked even more excited now than she had done before.

"Where are you going?" Dimitri was playing the concerned big brother.

"I just saw a friend; I'm going to go see him for a while."

"Him?" I squeezed Dimitri's hand, trying to tell him not to be so hard on her. What was so bad about her going to see a boy, at least it wasn't an illegal relationship with her mentor. Surely any relationship she was having had to better than sleeping with an instructor (unless said instructor was ridiculously hot and she just happened to be in love with him).

"Yes, Dimka," Viktoria replied a little harshly.

"Of course we don't mind." I smiled before Dimitri could give her some kind of reprimanding speech.

"Thanks, Rose." She grinned and ran off.

"She's young and clearly likes him, let her be."

"She's only eighteen." He didn't look at me, still staring after his sister.

"I was only seventeen when I knew that I was in love." I reminded him.

He finally glanced across at me and smiled. "Are you suggesting that her relationship resembles ours in some way?"

"I hope not. Let's hope she has it easy."

"It was all worth it though." Our lips met. "All of it." And again. "I would do it again in a heartbeat."

Finally Dimitri kissed me and didn't pull away a second later. I slipped my arms around his waist to make sure that he couldn't and pulled him close against me. This wasn't the kind of kissing that happened in church.


	13. Chapter 13

13

When we arrived back at the house, Olena was surprised to see Viktoria gone. We didn't mention who she had run off with, only that she had gone with a friend. It had taken a little convincing of Dimitri, but I didn't want to blow the girl's cover. We were just settling down for lunch when Yeva and Paul entered the room.

"Grandmother says that you two must go and pick blackcurrants." Paul said on behalf of the old woman.

"Sure, can we eat first?" I asked. I was happy to help out but I was starving.

"She says you must go now." I opened my mouth, ready to argue but Dimitri stood up and took one of the containers from his grandmother. I followed suit, not wanting to piss off the already angry looking woman.

We followed Yeva to the edge of the village where she pointed out a bush which grew small black berries. We had containers that reminded me ice cream tubs that she wanted us to fill. According to Paul, we were not to return home until we had filled the boxes. Let me tell you, picking blackcurrants is not an enjoyable activity. I was bored out of my mind by the time my box was almost half full. We had been instructed to pick only the best, ripe blackcurrants and so it wasn't even as if I could block out the activity; I had to concentrate. I glanced across and Dimitri, his face was as neutral as always and I wondered if he found the job as thrilling as I did.

I had pulled off another handful of berries as I was watching Dimitri but when I looked down I found that some of them were still green and one had been half eaten by birds. I picked out the three usable ones and threw the rest away.

"Hey!" Dimitri shouted. I looked up, worried that we were being attacked by Strigoi. The look on his face suggested not, the reddish black smear across his cheek also suggested otherwise. I laughed, realising what had happened. I had absent-mindedly thrown the berries away, but that throw had been in his direction. The half-eaten berry had hit his face and left a mark on his cheek.

"Ah," I screamed, as a blackcurrant hit me. Dimitri wore a smug grin, identifying him as the culprit.

_This is war_¸ I thought to myself. Grabbing another handful of berries, I attacked Dimitri. They burst across his face again.

"Hang on." Dimitri paused; he removed his duster and placed it over a fence out of the way. He wore a short sleeved black t-shirt underneath. Great, I had a larger surface area now. "Now you can carry on."

"Oh, Comrade, we couldn't possibly get that coat dirty now, could we?" I teased.

"No, we couldn't." He replied seriously. The seriousness disappeared when he lobbed another handful at me.

We continued picking berries whilst we fought, and the activity actually became a lot more fun. When the containers were finally full we were able to focus entirely on combat. I took Dimitri's box and placed them both with his duster. I had just sat them down when I was wrestled from behind. I screamed as Dimitri snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. He started tickling me and I collapsed to the ground underneath him. He ended up lying on top of me, still tickling me.

"Oh my God, stop!" I finally screamed, unable to breathe. He didn't. Still playfully, I flipped him over so that I was now on top of him.

Our eyes met and we froze, both breathing raggedly. I saw the desire in his eyes so leant down slowly and pressed my lips against his. It was nothing like the kiss in the church. This kiss was something more animal; it was filled with passion and lust.

I don't know how long we kissed for, it could have seconds or days, but before I knew it Dimitri's hands were sliding under my shirt. He ran his hands all over my upper body while we kissed, and then one moved down, stroking my hip.

A breeze blew at that moment, rustling the blackcurrant bush and reminding us that we were still outside. I think that we had both forgotten that we were outdoors and incredibly exposed. With some pretty amazing guardian restraint, we managed to untangle ourselves and get up off the ground. There was still a passionate gleam in his eye which told me that this would be continued later.

Yeva didn't seem overly pleased with the two slightly overflowing tubs of blackcurrants despite us having followed her "orders" exactly. Dimitri didn't seem bothered by her reaction and spoke a few words of Russian to her. I, however, was pissed off by her lack of appreciation. We had spent, I glanced at the clock, hours picking those damned things and it had not been fun but she couldn't even say thank you to us. Dimitri, seeing my frustration and chuckling quietly, grabbed a couple of slices of black bread and cheese before leading me to the sofa in the living room. The sandwich was nice but I didn't get much time to enjoy it because Paul was soon back again with more of his grandmother's instructions. This time, it was a job for just me. Dimitri told me that it was best to go and follow her orders so I reluctantly tore myself away from his warm arms and followed the old woman. She was beginning to seem less like a witch and more like something that rhymed with that.

"Grandmother wants you to carry this for her," Paul said once we were outside; I was handed a ridiculously heavy sack.

"Jeez, what's in here?" I was about to look inside when Yeva made some kind of loud and angry noise.

"She says that it's not of your business what is inside. You only need to carry it." Paul translated for me. I gave him a warm smile, not wanting to hate him for what she was making me do.

"It feels like there are a couple of bricks in here though!"

Yeva set off at what seemed like an incredibly fast pace for someone as old as her and I scurried to keep up with her. Paul accompanied us but he walked with his great-grandmother whilst I trudged along with the sack a little way behind them. I had no idea where we were going, what I was carrying or what the purpose of the trip was but it seemed like we had been walking for hours.

"Where are we going because I don't know if you've noticed but this sack is pretty heavy?" I grunted as I hitched it higher up onto my shoulder.

I heard Yeva mumble something inaudibly and Paul was again required to translate. "She says that Uncle Dimka wouldn't have complained this much."

I sighed, he was right. Dimitri wouldn't have complained at being asked to do a favour for his grandmother. He probably wouldn't have had quite the struggle that I was having, not that I would ever admit that to his face, but even if he struggled to lift it and had some kind of back injury, Dimitri would still not have complained. I thought about this and tried not to grunt, moan or complain for the rest of the journey. A little while later, we arrived at a small cottage in the middle of nowhere, far out from the rest of Baia. I saw the rental car that Dimitri and I had hired parked in the driveway and was instantly confused. If Dimitri was driving up here anyway, then why the hell had I needed to lug the sack all this way?

The door to the cottage was opened just then and I saw a Moroi woman who looked to be around thirty. She was pretty, with reddish-blonde hair and high cheekbones.

"Hello," She smiled, welcoming us inside. "You must be Rose, my name is Oksana. Dimitri is through there with my husband Mark."

I didn't question how she knew me because I assumed that Dimitri must have told her all about me. She had gestured to another room which turned out to a kitchen and we followed her through. Sure enough, Dimitri sat at the table with a man with greying hair which suggested he was much older than Oksana. Not that I could really say anything about age gaps in relationship seeing as there was a fairly large one in my own. What I also noticed, was that he was a dhampir. I was surprised by this; Moroi dhampir relationships were uncommon and marriages between the two were practically unheard of.

I put the bag down near the table and Yeva gestured to Mark accompanied with some Russian. He then picked up the bag and glanced inside. His face spread into a large grin and he pulled out, not that I could actually believe it, a whole load of bricks.

"You actually made me carry bricks all the way up here? And Dimitri was coming up anyway, why didn't you put them in his car?" I demanded, pissed off didn't even cover it anymore.

Yeva didn't reply, in Russian or English, but simply shrugged her shoulders and ignored me.

"I'm building a wall in the garden," Mark explained. "Yeva said that she had some bricks lying around that I could use. I'm sorry that you had to carry them."

"Humph," I muttered, but it wasn't his fault so I tried to smile. "It's alright, I was happy to help."

"Would you like to see the wall that you have helped to create?" Mark asked with an enthusiastic grin.

"Uh," Did I really want to go outside and look at a half built wall? "Sure…"

"He's kidding, Roza." Dimitri chuckled.

"Oh," I said simply, feeling stupid.

Mark laughed. "I'm sorry. Would you like to join us for lunch?"

"Thanks." I smiled at him and took a seat beside Dimitri. Mark returned to whatever he had been doing before I entered and I looked at the guy beside me. "What the hell was that all about? I get asked to carry a load of bricks a hell of a long way whilst you drive up here in your car?"

"I don't know, Roza. My mother told me where you were going and said that I might like to join you." The look in his eyes suggested that he knew a lot more than he was letting on.

We watched, despite our offers of help, as Mark and Oksana made lunch. They moved in sync, never getting in each other's way and always knowing who was responsible for doing what, when and where. It wasn't until Oksana went to microwave something that I realised what was going on.

"It doesn't need that long." Mark said to his wife. I wasn't sure what he was talking about but I glanced across and saw Oksana setting the time on the microwave. Mark had not turned around.

"Wait, are you guys bonded?" I asked, my mouth dropping wide open.

Dimitri laughed, "We wondered how long it would take you to work it out."

"You knew? You knew that there were other bonded people? You knew another spirit user and another shadow kissed person. You knew all this time and you never told us?" I was kind of angry that Dimitri could have kept something this important from Lissa and me?

"Roza, I didn't know. I mean, we always knew that there was a special link between Mark and Oksana but nobody really knew about spirit until Lissa. I never really thought about it, I also found out today." Dimitri smiled reassuringly, probably hoping that I wouldn't rip his head off.

"Huh," I said simply.

"Maybe we could talk after lunch?" Mark said to me, with a gentle but hopeful smile. I realised that whilst we didn't know many spirit users, these two probably didn't know any, never mind another shadow kissed person.

"Yeah, I'd like that." There were certainly a couple of question that I would like to ask Mark.

We ate soon after that and it as interesting to hear Mark and Oksana's story. He had been her guardian until he died. They were in love and so she brought him back. Their relationship had been pretty scandalous, not only because of the age gap but because he was her guardian. If Moroi/dhampir relationships weren't common, they were almost non-existent between guardians and their charges.

Lunch was some Russian food that tasted amazing, although I wasn't quite sure what it was. I made a mental note to ask Dimitri later so that I could remember one of the few Russian dishes that I liked. After we had eaten, Mark invited me outside to the garden. At first I thought that I really was going to have to admire his wall but he didn't bring that up.

"So, is there anything that you would like to know? Surely you must have some questions." Mark didn't waste any time in getting to the point.

"I take it Dimitri told you about me, being shadow kissed?" I had a lot of questions but wanted to start simply.

"No, Yeva did. It's why she brought you here."

"You mean it wasn't just to carry all those bricks?" I remarked dryly.

"No, but they will be helpful. Yeva Belikov senses things, things that nobody else does. She didn't know exactly what it was about you that she could sense, but she senses the same thing around me, so she brought you here. Of course, Oksana would have known the second she saw you and your aura."

"So she can see auras too?" Auras were something that Adrian often commented on, but Lissa was still trying to master it.

"Yes, and yours has the darkness that is attached to being shadow kissed. But I saw through her and there is so much darkness in your aura, more than there should be after having been away from your bondmate for such a short time. So I wondered, has she ever healed it for you?"

"Healed what for me?"

"The darkness."

I regarded him, confused and shocked by his words. "She could do that?"

Mark stared at me in equal surprise. "Yes, of course. She can heal other things, right? Why not this?"

"Because..." I frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. The darkness, all the bad side effects, those come from Lissa. If she could just heal it, why wouldn't she heal it out of herself?"

"Because when it's in her, it's too ingrained. Too tied into her being. She can't heal it the way she can other things. But once your bond has pulled it into you, it's like any other sickness."

"We never thought of it like that. I always just assumed that it was something that I would have to deal with alone." Well, not entirely alone. I had Dimitri who had promised never to let spirit's darkness take me over. He had certainly done an effective job of that back at St Vladimir's.

"You are never alone, you always have your bondmate." Mark fished in his pocket and pulled out a silver ring. "Here, try this. It should help."

I put on the ring and, almost instantly, it felt as if a weight was lifting off my shoulders. I hadn't realised that the darkness put such physical restraints on me but now it felt as though I could finally move freely.

"What else can Oksana do? I'm guessing the super-compulsion, and obviously the healing, but what else? Can she walk dreams?"

"Her compulsion is strong, yes, but what do you mean by walk dreams?"

"She'd be able to enter someone else's mind when they're asleep, not just yours but anyone's. And have a conversation, as if they were together. I have a friend who does that."

"I've never heard of anything like that. Your bondmate can do that?" His face held a look of incredulity.

"No, another guy I know. He's a spirit user too."

"How many do you know?" His surprise grew.

"Uh, three. Well, four now, I guess, counting Oksana."

"Wow," Mark breathed, apparently too shocked to say anything else.

"What about you? Have you ever met anyone else?"

"I have only ever known one other and his shadow kissed bondmate. But he lost his bondmate and it tore him apart."

"Oh," I hoped that Lissa never would know how that pain felt. "One other question: do you ever see ghosts?"

"I had hoped that wouldn't happen to you," was all Mark said.

"Did you learn to control it?"

"Eventually, but it took time. I can block them out almost entirely now but of course my walls occasionally slip."

"Like when you fly?"

"Yes, like when I fly. I certainly get an awful headache and sometimes there is a flash or a face in my peripheral vision."

"Yeah, that's how it affects me." I paused, a thought had suddenly struck me. "Do you, uh, do you ever get bad dreams?"

"Everyone gets bad dreams, Rose."

"Yeah, but I'm talking about, like, really bad nightmares."

"Oksana and I weren't entirely sure if it was a side effect of being shadow kissed or just something that I suffered from." Mark sighed. "But I suppose, if you get them too…"

"Why though? The darkness, the ghosts, the nausea around Strigoi; that can all be explained, why nightmares?"

"There isn't really anyone who specialises in the effects of a spirit bond, Rose," Mark said, a slight smile playing at the corners of his lips. "We have wondered about it for many years and thought of many different causes reasons. Perhaps because we survived. When you see the ghosts, are they happy to see you?"

"No, they usually seem pretty pissed off. Once," I stumbled, nervously remembering how Andre had acted on the plane all that time ago. "I got the idea that they wanted me dead, that they didn't think I should have lived."

"Exactly."

"So you think that the ghosts are creating these dreams? Why though, so I get depressed and kill myself? Do they really want me dead that much?" The whole ghost thing had just gone up a notch from irritating to kind of terrifying.

Mark didn't reply, but shrugged. He didn't know for sure and it was just speculation. I was suddenly eager to get back to Dimitri, to tell him what I had learned but also because I just felt so much safer in his presence.


	14. Chapter 14

14

Once we were back in the US, the summer passed quickly and I was back at Lehigh before I knew it. My visit to Russia had been brilliant and it had been great to meet Dimitri's family. Although it was nice to be home, I had noticed the change in Dimitri from relaxed and open back to his usual stoic guardian attitude. We had promised Olena that we would visit again soon but I wasn't sure when we would next be able to escape together.

As I settled back into our dorm room at Lehigh, I couldn't help wondering what it would be like when I didn't have to keep coming back here. When I could stay in the house at Court with Dimitri every night and wake up right beside him.

"Are you alright?" Lissa asked me, pulling me from my daydream.

"Yeah, fine. Why?"

"You just seem a little distracted, that's all." Lissa shrugged. I saw myself through her eyes; curled up on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I guess I did look kind of distant.

"Just thinking."

"That's never a good sign." Lissa grinned.

"Hey," I protested. "I think all the time and nothing bad comes of it."

"Depends on your definition of bad! What was it this time; how not to flunk the college course you have no interest in? How hot Dimitri looks with his shirt off? They are typical Rose Hathaway musings."

"Neither, actually." I stuck my tongue out. "Just thinking about the future."

"Oh dear. Serious thinking."

"Not really, still picturing Dimitri naked in my future." Lissa rolled her eyes. "Nah, just thinking about when we won't be stuck here."

"Oh," Lissa replied softly. She didn't say anything else so I glanced across. Her expression conveyed hurt, as did the bond. Ah shit, I'd hurt her feelings.

"Sorry," I said, feeling like an idiot. Of course she didn't feel like she was stuck here. She wanted to be here, she had an interest in the course she was studying. "Liss, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

I trailed off not knowing how to excuse what I had meant.

"Yes, you did and _I'm_ sorry. I guess I take for granted how much you've given up for me."

"But you know what? I would do it all again in a heartbeat. My life purpose is to protect you and yeah sometimes I might resent the fact that it halts my relationship but it's worth it. It's a cause I believe in, and I'm willing to put Dimitri to one side for you."

"But you shouldn't have to." Lissa still refused to look at me.

I moved to sit beside her and bumped her shoulder with my own. "Hey, you'd do the same for me right?"

"Of course I would. Except for the fact that I can't actually fight and do would be useless at defending you."

"Yeah, Liss, they teach you that bit. Where'd you think I was all those years at St Vlad's?" I grinned at her and this time she laughed too.

"Speaking of Dimitri, we haven't had a good girl talk in ages and I still haven't heard all about your Russia trip!"

"That's because you're always with Christian."

"You mean like you're always with Dimitri?"

"Hey, that's work!"

"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes. "So... Tell me everything."

"Well, first of all I nearly got killed, then-"

"What?" Lissa exclaimed. Apparently, I hadn't mentioned that in the few scarce details I had told her about.

"Yeah, Strigoi attack but it was fine. I'm still here, aren't I?"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me, Rose," she chastised.

"Uh, because you were halfway around the world and you would only have worried, like you're doing now."

"Sorry,"

"After that we got to Baia, met Dimitri's family, who are all lovely, and relaxed; Dimitri especially."

"I'm not sure I've ever really seen Dimitri relax. I mean it's as if he's always on duty, you know, he's always so stoic and formal. I mean, he's less so with you but still pretty solid."

"It was kind of weird seeing him so unrestricted but nice." I smiled at the memory. "Even with me he isn't that open. Dimitri likes to keep his feelings to himself, so most of what I think he feels is guesswork. He thinks that to be a good guardian he has to be reserved and detached from his charge. I think that might have seeped into all of his feelings though."

"Why does he think that? Wouldn't being close to someone and caring about them make you more eager to protect them?" I could tell that Lissa didn't get it at all, but then she didn't know anything about his past.

"His last charge, before you, he died. He was like Dimitri's best friend and he was on leave when it happened but it's Dimitri; he blames himself."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said sadly.

"So then we went sightseeing," I said, quickly changing the subject. "We looked around his hometown and I met lots of really nice people. I was actually amazed how many people spoke English, but Viktoria said that they learn it at school. I guess it explains Dimitri's English. Oh and Lissa, I completely forgot, we met a couple and they were shadow kissed! She was a spirit user and he was like me, they were bonded and oh Lissa, you should have met them!"

"What? You met another spirit user? You're only just telling me this now?" I smirked, remembering how I had reacted similarly. "It's not funny, I can't believe this!"

"It was amazing; I mean we just stumbled across them after years of searching."

"So what could she do? Could she dream walk, see auras?"

"The auras yes, but Mark didn't know what dream walking was so you're not the only one who can't do it!"

"That's great, I mean wow."

"Mark also said something else, about the darkness…" I hesitated, not wanting to ask Lissa to heal me. Despite how willing she was, I still felt bad. I was asking her to use the magic that I tried so often to convince her not to use. I was also limiting her abilities.

"What did he say?"

"He said there was a way to heal it, from me."

"Really, that's great!"

"But, Liss, it means you have to use the magic, the thing that causes the darkness. I pull it into me, and he said that you can then heal it."

"It's that simple?"

"But it's not, that's the thing. Mark also told me that, you won't be able to do the other to the same degree. Your other abilities, they'll be lessened and I can't do that."

"It's not your decision to make, Rose. You keep me physically safe and I will keep mentally safe. It seems a fair deal to me." Lissa pulled me close, holding me in a way that made me feel like the powerless one and her, the stronger of us.

"I can't fight you on this, can I?"

"Nope." She grinned.

I smiled and hugged her back, glad that we'd been able to talk without either of our boyfriends interrupting.


	15. Chapter 15

15

THREE YEARS LATER

"We graduated, we did it!" Lissa shouted excitedly.

"I never doubted that you would, it was a little sketchy on my part for a while though." I grinned, I wasn't as good in a human school as I had been in the academy. I hadn't been able to ignore my studies and concentrate on fighting to get me through, I had been forced to work and, let's just say, I hadn't worked that hard.

Christian arrived a moment later with his guardian to congratulate Lissa. I turned to the stoic guardian that I loved and grinned. He shook his head in despair and pulled me close.

"How the hell did you make it?" Dimitri whispered in my ear before kissing me.

"Hey, I'm not a complete idiot!"

"Oh, yeah? I think your high school results would disagree." He spoke softly against my lips, his tickling mine slightly as he spoke.

"Shut up! I had more important things going on back then, like an illegal romance with you." I grinned and kissed him again so that he couldn't insult my, admittedly awful, school results anymore.

"Get a room!" A voice called from behind us.

I pulled away and saw Alex, a guy that I shared some classes with. "You're just jealous!"

"Damn right, Hathaway."

"Well, sorry but I'm taken."

"You're breaking my heart here, girl!" I glanced across in time to see Dimitri roll his eyes and laughed. Lacing my fingers through his, I pulled Dimitri close to my side.

I did like Alex, and I enjoyed flirting with him, but only because it reminded me of the friendship that I had once shared with Mason; I had no interest in him sexually. Why would I when I had my own badass battle god?

Someone called Alex away and I turned back to Dimitri. He was giving me the look, the look that said I was about to be lectured.

"What?"

"Why do you do that to them?" He sighed, a disapproving look in his eyes.

"Do what?"

"Flirt, string them along."

"Are you jealous, comrade?" I grinned.

"No, I just feel bad for the guys."

"I think you are jealous," I grinned. "But you have nothing to worry about because my heart belongs completely to you."

"Oh, Roza," he sighed. "You have no idea how much I love you."

"I think I have a pretty good idea, actually."

"Are you guys coming?" Christian asked, spoiling the moment that Dimitri were sharing.

"Coming where?" I replied a little sharply. I hadn't meant to but when a guy was confessing his love for you, even if it was for the hundredth time, you still didn't want to be interrupted.

"To dinner, back at Court?" Lissa explained to me with a slight smirk. Through the bond, I saw that she found my forgetfulness amusing and as a result of my recent intimacy with Dimitri.

"Oh yeah, Adrian, Eddie and my parents are coming, right?"

"Yep, Mia and Tasha will be there too though." Sympathy rushed through the bond, she knew I wasn't keen on either of them. Well, that wasn't entirely true; Mia I did kind of like these days, but my feelings towards Tasha remained strong and hateful.

Beside me, Dimitri squeezed my hand. I glanced at him and knew exactly what he was saying; don't make a scene. I didn't but I certainly didn't intend to pretend that we were best buddies.

"Okay." I said reluctantly. Despite my annoyance at Tasha's presence, I was excited to see my friends again after a long time of not spending every day with them; amazingly, I even missed Adrian.

When we arrived back at Court, our friends were all waiting for us. I jumped put of the car and hugged my mom, surprisingly happy to her. I hadn't realised until that moment just how much I had missed my mom whilst at college; never thought I would say that! Luckily, she had managed to get some time off, not something she often did, to welcome her daughter to the life of a university graduate. After hugging my mom, I nodded in my father's direction. Whilst our relationship wasn't as hostile as it had been to begin with, we weren't quite at the touchy-feely hugging stage yet. I greeted my other friends happily and was glad to be back at Court.

"Little dhampir, it's nice to have you back," Adrian said with his trademark lopsided grin.

"Good to be back." I hugged the guy and noticed that I couldn't smell either alcohol or those damned clove cigarettes. "Did you quit?"

"Both drinking and smoking." Adrian looked incredibly proud of himself.

"Wow. How? Why?" I asked, stunned. I had always teased him about giving up but never thought he would actually be able to do it.

"I guess, I found someone worth giving up for,"

"Adrian Ivaskov met a girl worth giving up his favourite things for? Are you hearing this, Lissa?"

"Yeah, that's great, Adrian." She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"It's not like that though. She's a little young for me, aren't you, Jailbait?"

"Shut up, Adrian!" A girl that I hadn't noticed stepped out from behind him with a grin. She was tall, taller than me, with crazily curled brown hair and green eyes. There was also something strangely familiar about her.

"Have we met before?" I asked, confused. There was definitely something about her but I couldn't quite place her face.

"We met on the elementary campus several years ago." Dimitri stepped forward. "Jill, right?"

The girl blushed furiously and looked at the ground. "Yeah, I'm Jill, you're Guardian Belikov, you're amazing."

"I remember you now." I smiled.

"Oh my God, I can't believe either of you remember. I mean of course I do, because you guys are awesome and you've like totally my heroes but I thought you would forget about me, especially with that big battle! So are you guys a couple? Adrian told me you were, I hope that's okay, I'm really sorry of it's not!" Jill rambled. I certainly remembered the excited rambling.

"It's fine and yeah Adrian's right, we are together."

"Oh my God, that is _so_ cool!"

"Yeah, I guess it is."

"I mean, he was your mentor, right? And now you're together! It's so romantic."

"Uh, yeah." I wasn't totally comfortable with her calling our struggle cool and romantic, especially not when it had been such a struggle at the beginning, so I tried to change the subject. "So, what's going to on with you and Adrian?"

"Nothing." She replied quickly, blushing an even deeper shade of red. "We're just friends."

"Jailbait's like a sister, little dhampir, so don't worry; my heart still belongs to you!" Adrian chuckled. I could see that he meant what he said, at least the part about Jill, but I wasn't sure of Jill felt the same. She looked almost upset as he spoke, her face falling from its previous excited daze. I guessed I might have to have a word with him later.

"Oh gee, that makes me so happy!" I replied sarcastically.

"You know you love me really."

"You keep on believing that, Adrian."

"When you two are quite finished flirting," my mother said disapprovingly. "Shall we go for dinner?"

"Yeah, great." I took Dimitri's hand, hoping to show her that I wasn't just a slutty bitch who had forgotten the presence of her boyfriend.

We chose a small, but friendly restaurant in the centre of court and grabbed a table. They hesitated but managed to seat all eleven of us together. Dimitri somehow ended up across the table from me next to Tasha, which I wasn't too happy about, whilst I sat between Lissa and Adrian.

We talked and laughed for a long time, even as we got into the vampiric day and the restaurant became busier. It felt good to catch up with the friends that I had not seen for such a long time.

I couldn't help glancing across every now and then where Tasha seemed to be trying awfully hard to keep Dimitri's attention on her. I watched as she flirted with him and he laughed at her jokes. I was disgusted that she was trying to steal _my_ boyfriend right in front of me.

"So Tasha, how are things with you?" I interrupted some 'hilarious' anecdote that she had been about to tell Dimitri.

"Oh, they're great. Christian is helping with martial arts lessons her at Court; it's surprising how many Moroi are keen to learn how to defend themselves. Maybe you should come along some time, Dimka, you could teach it so much better than me!" Ugh, that stupid nickname really pissed me off. Not only was it ridiculous to begin with, she had no right to give him cutesy nicknames.

"I don't know about that, Tasha." Dimitri replied modestly.

"Come on, comrade," I began, emphasising the 'comrade' part. I didn't really care about the class, I just wanted to show Tasha that I was the only one allowed to give him a nickname. "You'd be great. You're an excellent teacher, I would know."

Tasha smiled kindly, she really didn't get my dislike for her, did she? Meanwhile, Dimitri was eyeing me suspiciously, he knew exactly what I was doing.

"Little dhampir, tell me about college. Meet anyone cute?" Adrian asked, before I could cause any more trouble. He, too, always got it when I was being bitchy to Tasha.

"If you're asking me to set you up, think again, Adrian. You've had more than your fair share of college girls."

"Oh, Rose, don't say that." He grinned. "How could you suggest there is such a thing as too many college girls?"

"You quit drinking and smoking, why not the playboy lifestyle too?"

"What would Adrian Ivashkov be without at least one vice?"

"Does your 'charming' personality count?"

Adrian feigned hurt. "Little dhampir, how could you say such a thing?"

I grinned and affectionately bumped his shoulder with my own.

The banter suddenly reminded me of the exchange with Alex earlier that day, which in turn reminded me of the one person who was missing tonight. Suddenly I could breathe, suffocated by the people around me and the realisation of our group's missing member.

"I'm going to get some air." I said, standing up from the table. Dimitri looked at me questioningly but didn't offer any objections. Lissa too looked a little confused and asked me through the bond of I wanted any company; a brief shake of the head declined.

I walked out of the restaurant and sat on the ground in the cool air. It was the middle of the vampire day, and the middle of what would usually have been my night. It felt strange to be awake at three in the morning but I was going to have to get used to it again.

My thoughts soon returned to the real reason I had left the restaurant; Mason. I couldn't help missing him this today, after the jokes I had shared with Alex and now all of my friends being gathered together, except him. My mind kept thinking of him, wishing he was here, wishing he wasn't dead. A single tear slipped from my eye and I quickly wiped it away as I heard a door open behind me. Despite my telling Lissa I didn't want any company, Dimitri had followed me out. I looked through the bond and saw that she had suggested Dimitri follow me. Why did I bother telling her anything if she was going to ignore it?

"Roza?" Dimitri sounded concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah" I paused, attempting to right the uneven voice that had just escaped my lips. "Just thinking."

Dimitri joined me on the hard pavement in front of the restaurant. "What you thinking about you?"

He was trying to play it cool, act as though he was simply curious rather than worried about my mental state.

"Mason," I replied. "I miss him, today especially. Alex reminds me of him, that's why I like him. And then tonight as well. We hardly ever do anything together with everyone, it reminds me that he isn't here, because everyone else is."

Dimitri pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. "Oh, Roza. I didn't even think about that. I'm so sorry."

"I just wish he was still here, there are so many things I wish; I wish i'd been stronger, I wish I'd killed that bastard before he killed Mase, I wish I hadn't told him where they were in the first place."

"No, Roza, don't do that. Don't blame yourself."

"But it is my fault, you told me and I wasn't responsible enough to keep it to myself, like you told me to."

"No, no. I told you, you made some bad choices but what happened is not your fault. Mason made his own decision."

"I just miss him so much." And in a very un-Rose-Hathaway like manner, I burst into tears.

Dimitri stroked his hands across my back in an attempt to soothe me. After a few minutes, I had stopped crying and Dimitri asked if I wanted to go back inside.

"You go ahead, I just need a minute," I told him, hoping that he would think I wanted to sort my face out or something. In reality, I had something completely different in mind; something I knew Dimitri wouldn't approve of.

"Okay, but Rose, I know what you're thinking and I'm asking you not to do it."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I replied as innocently as I could. He was on to me, I should have known that I couldn't hide anything from Dimitri.

He eyed me suspiciously before deciding he could trust me and returning to the restaurant. But as much as it disappointed me, on this occasion he couldn't trust me. I was about to do exactly what he didn't want me to do.

I stood up, took a deep breath and lowered my walls.

As soon as they were down, I realised that it was a foolish mistake but I had to see him.

"Mason, are you there?" I searched for the familiar red-headed guy. "Mason?"

There was no response, just a series of flashing ghostly faces, whizzing past me. I looked harder, there were faces that I recognised. Some children whose family had been massacred several years ago, the guardians who had been lost at the St Vladimir's battle but still no Mason.

Then suddenly, just as had happened once before, Andre appeared in front of me with Lissa's parents. He used one finger to beckon me closer, his lips moving but no sound escaping. He wanted me to join them.

"No!" I shouted at my best friend's dead brother. "My place is here, with her, _with your sister_."

Andre shook his head continuing to beckon me.

"No," I said again, quieter this time and just moments before everything went black.

"Rose. Rose, are you alright?" A voice asked me. I opened my eyes and saw Lissa above me.

I moved, if a little awkwardly, so that I was sat upright. I found myself in bed in the house that Dimitri and I shared with Lissa curled up beside me.

"What happened?" I asked groggily.

"I came outside to look for you and you were lying on the ground. I was so worried, I ran back inside and got Dimitri who carried you home."

"Dammit, why am I always unconscious when he's carrying me?" Lissa laughed.

"Well at least we know she's feeling alright." A voice chuckled from the doorway; it was Dimitri.

I deliberately didn't look at him, I felt incredibly foolish. Dimitri had known exactly what I was going to do but I had told him I wouldn't and know where was I, in bed because I'd fainted!

"What happened, Rose?" Lissa asked, voice filled with concern.

"I let my walls down."

"I thought as much," Dimitri said disapprovingly.

I glanced up at him. "I had to see him, I had to."

"But look at where it got you! You shouldn't do that, Roza, it's not safe." Dimitri was using his old mentor voice, a stern one that I hadn't heard for some time.

"I know."

"Why did you do it, Rose?" Lissa, too, was worried. She knew me as sensible and smart not idiotic.

"Mason."

"Oh, Rose." Lissa didn't say anything else, simply pulled me close to her and held me tightly.

Dimitri left a few moments later, allowing us time to mourn a friend I had never had a chance to properly mourn.


	16. Chapter 16

The chapters will now pretty much be normal but cute days of their lives at random intervals. Some of them might be a bit shorter than others and some longer. Please keep on reviewing, you guys are pretty awesome with your reviews. :D

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16

"Good morning." Dimitri said, kissing me.

"It is now." I mumbled, pulling him closer.

This was the perfect way to be woken up; with one of Dimitri's kisses.

"You're on duty today." He reminded me, shattering the bubble of happiness.

"Screw you, I was enjoying myself there."

"Was that a suggestion?" Dimitri grinned. I glanced at the clock, I still had plenty of time.

"It could be." I smiled and pulled him back to me.

Unfortunately, I did eventually have to get up. I tore myself away from my piece of Russian perfection and made it to the central guardian building just before my shift started. Hans gave me a quick once over before giving me the day's assignment; I was on ward patrol.

"Great." I sighed, under my breath. Ward patrol was a pretty lonely job that didnt involve much interaction with other guardians.

"What was that, Hathaway?"

"Nothing, Sir."

"Thought I heard a complaint." I shook my head before leaving the building to begin my patrol. I had finally learned, much to Dimitri's delight, to accept orders without making a scene.

The day passed pretty quietly, I spoke to a couple of other guardians but spent much of the day in Lissa's head. If my superiors knew I was doing this while supposed to be on watch, I was pretty sure they would have me in a filing job in no time. I didn't feel too bad though because I knew that I wasn't the only guardian on patrol, others were surveying the wards at the same time.

By the end of the day, I was ready to go home. I clocked out with Hans and said hello to Mikhail before returning to the house I shared with Dimitri. With Lissa and Christian spending the majority of their time at Court, Dimitri and I got to spend most nights at home. Sometimes we stayed with them, but mostly it wasn't required.

"I'm home." I called as I entered the hall and put my keys and silver stake down on the table.

"In the kitchen," the reply said.

I followed the shout, and the delicious smells, and found Dimitri cooking.

"Smells great," I said, slipping my arms around his waist from behind. I peered into the pan. "What is it?"

"It's going to be pasta bake. I also made some black bread."

"Great." I grinned. I love having a domestic god for a boyfriend, not that most people would have guessed I did. He was more commonly known as a badass battle god than a domestic one.

I walked over to the bread bin, pulled out the still slightly warm loaf and cut myself a slice before slathering it in butter and tucking in.

"Dinner won't be that long, Roza." Dimitri told me.

I shrugged. "When has my appetite ever worried you?"

"Good point." He grinned, leaving the cooker to come and kiss me. "Good day?"

"Not too bad. I was on ward patrol," I pulled a face, although Dimitri already knew my feelings on the subject. "But it did allow me to catch up with Lissa. She's thinking about inviting us over to dinner this weekend."

Dimitri sighed and shook his head, he shared my superiors' view on checking in with Lissa whilst on patrol. He didn't comment though, we'd had that discussion many a time, keeping his response only to the subject of Lissa's dinner party plans. "That'll be nice."

"Yep. I'll call her and say we'll be there."

"Why not wait for her to ask us first?"

"You know sometimes, comrade, you are just no fun!" I grinned, kissing him before taking a seat at the table and removing my boots.

"That's not what you thought this morning." Dimitri winked at me.

"That is a very good point. Keep reminding me of that and you'll always be considered fun."

After dinner, we curled up together in the living room until Dimitri had to leave. Sometimes having a boyfriend who has to work nights really sucks. I said goodbye to him, before going upstairs. I had to be up early and was really tired so needed some sleep. I found Dimitri's pyjamas and pulled those instead of my own; at least that way I could pretend he was with me.


	17. Chapter 17

17

Most days when I got up, it was to be a part of guarding the Court. Admittedly, I got a lot of days off, but the days I did work tended to get boring and tedious. It had been some time since we had been required to face down a group of Strigoi, life was calmer that it had ever been. Today, though, today I was taking a trip out of Court. I felt like a three year old, excited by some lame day trip. And to be honest, it wasn't that exciting.

Lissa and Christian were going shopping outside of Court. It was almost Christmas and they both still had a lot of shopping to do.

"Why are you so excited, Roza?" Dimitri laughed as we left our cozy house.

"I feel like I'm still in school and taking an off-campus day trip. We almost never leave Court, this is pretty exciting for me!" I grabbed his hand enthusiastically. "Am I going to see much of you today?"

"What do you think?" Once upon a time I would have assumed he was being sarcastic but I realised that he was actually asking for my opinion on guarding strategies.

"It's a busy mall, but it's daytime." I paused, thinking. We were getting up at an odd time, vampire evening, so that we could hit the human shops which meant sun which also meant no Strigoi. "I think we'll be okay. Act far guard for half an hour, then join us if there are no issues."

"Good plan, Roza." He smiled, genuinely meaning what he said. I liked the fact that he was now prepared to not only hear my tactics but also carry them out.

"Rose!" A voice pulled me from my happy thoughts. "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Yep. I'm driving!" I called, knowing what Dimitri would be like.

"In that case, I choose the radio station." I sighed, would I rather be passenger or listen to awful music from the eighties?

"Passenger it is." I reluctantly tossed Dimitri the keys.

"That's what I thought." He grinned and Lissa rolled her eyes as we all piled into the car.

When we arrived at the mall, the sun was fully out and climbing out of the dark-windowed car, I knew that Lissa and Christian were feeling the brightness. I personally thought it was a little overcast and liked to see the sun once in a while but the light was hurting their eyes. With the guardian mantra ringing in my ears, I hurried inside with with my friends.

True to my plan, Dimitri was far guard for half an hour before coming to join us. Lissa thought he had gone, but I, with my guardian super power of observance, noticed him a couple of times.

"No problems," Dimitri said as he rejoined our group. I took his hand and momentarily took my eyes off Lissa to kiss him. Fortunately, she was still there when I looked back so I wouldn't be getting into any trouble today for indulging in my romantic life.

"Is there anything that you guys need to get?" Lissa asked Dimitri and me as we all deliberated which shop to visit next.

"No, I don't think so, but wasn't there something that you wanted to have a look at over there, Lissa?"

"Uh." Lissa hesitated.

"We'll see you back here in... An hour?"

I pulled Lissa away from the guys, ignoring her confused expression.

"What's going on, Rose?"

"I need something for Dimitri but I don't want him to know that I left it so last minute so I figured you wouldn't mind being a diversion."

"Oh, I guess I messed that one up a bit."

"It's fine. I can't really hide anything from Dimitri so he probably already knows what we're doing."

"Probably."

We wandered in and out of a few shops, wondering what I could possibly buy for Dimitri. He had seen and read most Westerns, a few hundred times each, and apart from that didn't have too many interests (I decided protecting people and staking evil creatures of the night weren't really interests). I did look, about three times, at a calendar with pictures of Siberia for each day of the month but I wasn't sure if that would be a crap present. In the end, I bought the calendar, a new jumper and decided that I would get him a new stake. Of course the stake couldn't exactly be bought from a human shop.

When we caught up with them, Lissa tried to convince us to let them go off alone; I saw in her mind that she wanted to buy my Christmas gift and also something for Dimitri.

"No way," I said. "Not a chance."

"Rose, we are in a perfectly safe environment."

"Do you know how many people get killed in malls in Pennsylvania alone?" I demanded.

"No, but I have a feeling you are going to tell me."

"The exact number isn't the point," I didn't have a clue. "The point is that it's a lot more than at Court."

"Rose, everywhere has a higher death rate than at Court because not everywhere has a few hundred trained guardians on site twenty-four-seven."

"That proves my point, Liss, you need us to keep you safe."

"Rose," Lissa said in exasperation.

"I guess they could go, for a little while. You've got the bond, Rose, you'll know if there's any trouble." Dimitri spoke up after a long period of silence.

"What? Comrade?" I exclaimed.

"I scouted the place out. It's a safe mall, not that large, they will be fine. Go on, half an hour and back here."

Lissa decided to take what she could get and quickly escaped before I could voice any other objections.

"What the hell was that?" I turned on Dimitri as soon as Lissa was gone but I was keeping my head tuned into hers.

"I'm not planning to leave them alone." Dimitri replied calmly. "It's just a slight alteration to usual guardian protocol where we both act far guard."

"Okay. I'll let you off then."

"Roza, I am not that daft as to let two unguarded Moroi wander off together, not after what happened your first summer after graduation."

We followed our friends and charges before meeting back up. Luckily, Lissa didn't see us and neither of us were foolish enough to mention it. Somehow, I also managed to not to see my Christmas present.

Hey guys, I'm really sorry for the bad updating lately, school has been kind of hectic. I'm actually also off to Italy tomorrow and don't know when I'll be able to update again but I will try and have something for you when I get back. I have two plane journeys so I should have time (whilst not panicking about my first ever trip in a plane!) Also, if anyone has any requests as to things they want to see happen, then give me a shout either review or PM. I will give credit unless I already had the idea and then we can share! ;) Keep reviewing, I love you guys! 3


	18. Chapter 18

I know, I am a horrible person and I do not update nearly enough... October Tests and Personal Statements are all horrible things but not excuses for neglecting you guys. Sorry...

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18

I woke up early on Christmas Day, feeling like a small child.

"Dimitri, wake up!" I poked him in the ribs and prodded him with my feet until he woke up. I couldn't understand how the guy woke up straight away if someone was in danger but struggled to open his eyes when I was excited.

"What, Roza?" He asked, groggily. His voice deep and his accent thicker than usual.

"It's Christmas!" I grinned.

"Is it? I would never have known that if you hadn't woken me up and told me," Was the sarcastic response. He glanced at the clock and groaned. "It's six o'clock."

"Well, I'm getting up." I announced. I climbed out of the warm bed and the freezing cold air hit me like a stake through the heart.

"It's cold. Come here." Dimitri said, practically reading my mind, before pulling me back into bed.

"But it's Christmas! Presents, food, friends..." I trailed off, hoping that I had managed to convey my feelings of excitement.

"They'll still be there later though." Dimitri pressed his face to my neck, kissing the skin there.

"But Christmas-" My words were cut off by a kiss that I couldn't help but melt into.

An hour later, Dimitri finally permitted me to get up. I bounced downstairs and found a huge pile of presents in the living room as well as Lissa and Christian. They were snuggled up on the air mattress, not yet awake.

"I'll make some hot chocolate." Dimitri said, leaving the room. "Don't open anything whilst I'm gone."

"You're no fun!" I whispered back.

Once he was gone, I scrambled down to the bottom of the tree where the presents sat. There was a massive one wrapped in red paper which I excitedly checked the label of, but unfortunately it was addressed to Lissa, not me.

After a quick scan of the gifts, I had worked out which ones were mine and their exact locations. I jumped up and over to where Lissa and Christian were still, somehow, sleeping.

"Liss! Wake up." I said loudly.

"What?" Lissa mumbled.

"It'a Christmas Day!" I said excitedly, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. As I say, the duvet was pulled down slightly and I saw that they were both shirtless. "Woah, have you guys heard of clothes?"

Lissa blushed dark red and pulled the covers back up. It was too late though, her mind, and so also my mind, was being filled with images of the night before.

"Really, in my living room? Did you have to?"

"I can't help having a smoking hot princess for a girlfriend!" Christian said, suddenly awake.

"But in my living room?" I repeated.

"Rose-" Lissa began.

"I'm going to go and see if Dimitri needs any help." I walked quickly from the room.

"Ugh," I entered kitchen and jumped up onto the counter beside Dimitri.

"What?" He had just finished making the drinks and was about to pick them up.

"I wouldn't go in there."

"Why not?" Dimitri glanced at me and my expression must have explained everything. "Oh, okay."

"Yep. You're lucky, you don't have to witness it all."

"Never let anyone make me shadow-kissed." He screwed his face up and came to stand in front of me. "I thought that was our place."

"Not any more. But we still have every other room in the house..." I grinned.

"That we do."

I wrapped my legs around Dimitri's waist and pulled him closer before kissing his lips softly.

"Now who's getting hot and heavy in a public place." Lissa said, coming into the kitchen.

"Difference is: this is our house!" I replied, sticking my tongue out.

"Ach, excuses, excuses. How many times have you two got up close and personal at our house?"

"How about we go through?" Dimitri interrupted before we could go any further. He didn't like discussing our sex life in public (by which I meant with anyone other than me). "And open some presents?"

"Yes!" I said excitedly. He had mentioned presents and now my attention had been completely diverted from the previous conversation. Boy, did the guy know me well.

I bounced into the living room, leaving Dimitri and Lissa to carry the drinks. Christian had moved the air bed to the side of the room and, thankfully, put some pyjamas on.

"Nice of you to get dressed." I said.

"Nice of you to respect people's privacy when they're in bed." Christian replied sarcastically.

"My house."

"My girlfriend."

"My best friend."

We both thought for a moment about what I had just said and burst out laughing.

"How does that have anything to do with this? Are you jealous? Is no one ever allowed to touch your best friend, other than you?" Christian laughed.

"No." I joked.

"Okay, maybe I'll have a little bit of fun with your dear Russian friend then!"

"Don't even think about it." I glared.

"Well, I'll just carry on with Lissa then."

"You're incredibly annoying sometimes, you know that?" I groaned.

"Yep!" Christian grinned.

Lissa and Dimitri entered a moment later, carrying the four drinks. I took mine gratefully before plonking myself down on the floor in front of the presents.

"Who needs kids when we have Rose?" Christian laughed, I glared in return.

"So, me first, obviously!" I said, grabbing one of the presents that I had discovered was mine earlier.

"Who says? What happened to _they come first_?" Christian asked, trying to cause trouble.

"I have to deal with that for the rest of the year, how about we put me first just this once?"

"Rose, Christian's joking. Go ahead." Lissa smiled, gently slapping Christian's arm.

The present was from my mother and Abe; it was a small photo frame which contained one of the few photographs of all three of us together. Lissa had taken the photo in the summer, claiming that it was important to have family photos. None of us had been particularly keen but we had obeyed, knowing better than to disagree with Lissa's views on family. I had ended up sandwiched in between my parents, who both had their arms around me. My mother looked genuinely happy, my father wore his usual mobster look and me, well I actually looked comfortable. I had never really examined the photo before, but I found myself smiling as I saw myself with two parents who did actually care for me, despite the bitchy teenage opinion of them I had once held.

"That's nice." Dimitri smiled as he came to sit next to a newly quiet me.

"Yeah," I said softly. Dimitri then proceeded to kiss my cheek, take the photo and put it on the mantelpiece next to one of him and me.

The unwrapping continued for an hour or so more, as we each took it in turns to open a gift. Dimitri loved the gifts that I had got him and I caught him deep in thought, looking at the photos on the calendar. Perhaps that hadn't been such an awful present after all. He even loved the stake, which I had to admit I was glad about. Once upon a time, he had hated it when I called him comrade and so I was a little nervous as to how he would take the personalised gift. Apparently though, he was now used to the name because he laughed and smiled very happily when he opened it.

I also received a whole load of great presents. Lissa gave me some small black rose earrings, which even I had to admit were pretty, as well as a gorgeous red silk dress that was figure hugging down to the waist where it became looser and flowed to just above my knees. Christian signed his name on Lissa's presents as well as giving me a care kit for my stake; he also gave one to Dimitri with the comment that is was _to help keep me alive_. Dimitri gave me one of the most beautiful presents ever. It was a charm bracelet and he had selected a few charms for it already; vampire fangs, a stake, a rose, a heart, a blackcurrant and a cowboy hat. He said that I could add my own too but they were the ones that reminded him of me and the times we had spent together.

Dimitri cooked an amazing Christmas dinner, with a massive turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes and vegetables. We played board games like Monopoly and Cluedo before Lissa and Christian went home with half of the leftovers. After they had gone, Dimitri and I curled up on the sofa and made out for a while. Eventually, Dimitri carried me upstairs, where we celebrated Christmas in the best way, with a naked Dimitri and lots of sex.


End file.
